Star Fox: The Shadow War
by Demo ODST
Summary: Three months since the Star Fox team was disbanded. Three months since Fox and Will disappeared. The war still ravages the Lylat system as Fox and his new allies race to end the war destroying their home, unraveling the mystery behind the wars beginning, uncovering a plan that was decades in the making. but the ones left behind have their own battle to fight too (Sequel)
1. Three Months

**Alright, this story is now complete. i really did not do much at all, more just fixed consistency errors, and added some color to a single scene. i honestly expected to do a lot more. anyway, enjoy, and please, leave some reviews!**

* * *

Mira sighed as she sat on her bed, facing the mirror in her room. Her eye's slipped across the image of her body, her long full hair, now smooth and silky as it had been before she became a soldier. Her fur had darkened over the past six months, changing from a dark tan to a lovely shade of brown, with tan highlights. She wasn't entirely sure what had caused this change, but being a hybrid, a genetic hiccup so to speak, likely had something to do with it. Her face was almost like a thicker, shorter version of a Vulpine's muzzle, her pointed ears sticking out of her hair. On her cheek, was a long line in the fur, marking a scar that the second she saw it brought up memories that were not altogether good, remembering how it felt to have her best friend and lover's knife slice through her skin. Another sigh slipped out of her mouth as she stood, fingering the small metal dog tags around her neck, her last memories of Will flashing through her mind. She tried to force her mind away from those memories as she pulled a tank top and pants out of the closet, quickly sliding them on. Before she left the room, she stole one last glance at the mirror, or more precisely, the photo taped to it. it was Mira and her human boyfriend, half intertwined on a cot, with the sun setting through one of the windows of the Krazoa palace.

"I cant believe it's been three months, and he hasn't said a word to me. So much has changed…. I really hope he is okay." Tears slipped out of her eyes as she spoke, more to herself than anything. In the three months since Star Fox's dismantlement at the hands of its leader, Fox McCloud and his subsequent disappearance, so much had changed. General Pepper, the once esteemed leader of the Cornerian Defense Force, was forced into retirement just days after the fateful law had ceased the use of all mercenary's, due to failing health. She had joined Peppy in seeing him at the hospital several times, finding him confined to a bed and on life support, but at least he had still been lucid. With the loss of his leadership, and the rallying symbol of the Star Fox team, the CDF's forces began to crumble. The invasion of Katina failed, Fortuna was reduced to nothing but a ravaged warzone, with very few Cornerian units still fighting on the ground or air. Most of the combat was now centered on the defensive zones put in place to prevent another Aparoid style invasion. Dozens of battle stations, each with massive and powerful cannons capable of destroying even some of the largest of human vessels in a single shot, were now the last hope for Corneria. Although some of the outer planets were still holding out on their own, Corneria was physically cut off from the rest of the system, with very little hope that it would survive the war unscathed. But, even as Corneria was falling into its last days, the punishment the Cornerian fleets had caused on the United Earth Coalition had drastically slowed their advance. But even a young mercenary such as herself knew that it was only a matter of time before the inhabitants of the virtually untapped Sol system would rally and crush what little resistance was left.

Mira's feet carried her out into the hall that contained the team member's rooms, quickly slipping down the hall and into the main room of what had once been the Star Fox head-quarters. Now, it was the silent living space of Mira and Krystal, having nowhere else to go. The main room was full of very comfortable plush sofas and recliners, with a single massive flat screen TV along one wall. There was a balcony on the ocean side of the building that they could walk out on, a small kitchen space nestled into the corner by the balcony door. The TV was currently on, playing the Cornerian News Network, Krystal and, much to Mira's surprise, Bill were sitting on one of the many couches in front of the TV.

Bill grey was a snub nosed, floppy eared, canine with light grey fur and was usually smiling about something, although that smile seldom came out since Fox left. Krystal was a vibrant blue Vixen, hailing from a strange and now destroyed world called Cerinia. She had hair falling down to her shoulder blades, almost totally unkempt and knotted in more places than one. Her right wrist was currently in a brace, having recently been able to remove the cast. It had been shattered during a running firefight here on Corneria, and was likely going to require several more weeks to heal. She usually stayed locked up in her room the whole day, only coming out to watch the news for any word of Fox McCloud.

"Hey Bill, didn't expect to see you here." He smiled to Mira as she lightly leapt over the back of the couch, landing softly between them. Krystal simply grunted at her, as her norm had become. "Anything on Will and Fox?" she directed her question more at Krystal, but given Bill had taken a desk job with the CDF, holding Commander Winters old office as the local defense Captain.

"Nothing yet in the news. Just Muzzin putting in more articles to the new defense act. All humans are to be rounded up and placed in internment camps now." Krystal's voice was extremely rough, primarily because she rarely used it anymore. Mira sighed, feeling Bill pat her shoulder.

"Hey, those two knuckle heads know what they are doing. And they got Falco and Katt watching over them. They're probably safer than we are right now. There have been whispers that the police are looking into arresting any mercenaries on Corneria, both active and former. I'd watch my back from now on if I were you two." Krystal just shrugged and Mira held a finger up, the TV drawing her attention.

"…Star Fox team is now missing and unaccounted for. Their Dreadnaught, the Great Fox Two, can be seen deactivated in Cornerian Orbit, even though by all accounts, it's repairs are complete. The members of the team on the other hand, have seemingly disappeared. I now take you live to an interview with Detective Balk Wulfern, who has been attempting to arrest the Star Fox team for several months." The screen changed from the female anchor that always passed along the news to what looked like a small, comfy looking conference room with two chairs placed across from each other. In one chair was a deep brown wolf with eerie yellow eyes. He was wearing a black trench coat and grey slacks, one leg twisted up to rest on his knees, hands comfortably clasped in his lap. The other was CNN's political analyzer, a brown long muzzled canine who was never seen outside of a suit and tie.

"Detective, it has been rumored that you have been assigned the task of hunting down and capturing the once beloved Star Fox team, is this true?" the detective smirked and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Yes and no. I have been assigned as the head of a new specialized task force, one who's sole purpose is to track down and apprehend high danger criminals. These include Mercenaries, bounty hunters, assassins, anyone who will kill for money. So yes, one of my prime targets are the former members of the Star Fox team." The man's voice was very smooth, almost like listening to a spring breeze rather than a voice.

"Is it also true that you have had multiple members in custody in the past?" the detective clinched his fists for a second, letting them open back up before he spoke.

"Yes, I have. And both times that I had members in custody, the military swooped in and rescued them, once with the use of a full squad of soldiers. And yes, before you ask, those barbarians should have stayed behind bars. Just remember three months ago, they were the source of a running gun battle down a crowded street, injuring almost two dozen civilians in total. Thankfully, with General Pepper no longer in command of our forces, and Muzzin's new Combined Arms act, I can finally put these criminals where they belong, behind bars." Mira went to turn off the TV but Krystal stopped her, earning her a rare glare from Mira.

"But, do you really believe they are criminals? They were once seen as the heroes of the Lylat system for many years, and were responsible for the demise of both Andross and the Apariods? Most would argue that there are reasonable explanations for all of the incidents regarding the Star Fox members, including the broadcast from a rebel group proclaiming they killed a member." This time, the detective didn't hold back his anger, his smooth voice changing into an animal like growl.

"They exploited us to make a profit! I wouldn't be surprised if they helped create the Lylat War and the Oikonny rebellion just so they could swoop in and save the day and a big fat paycheck! All mercenaries are out for is money! No one else matters to them!" Mira snatched the remote out of Krystal's hand and shut the TV off, almost chucking the remote at the screen.

"Damn it, I hate those fucks! If they would just open their eyes for five minutes maybe they would realize that none of us are out there for the money!" Krystal's cracking voice cut Mira off before she could keep ranting.

"Hey, don't you need to get going?" Mira looked at her wrist computer and cursed, giving Bill a quick hug.

"Say hi to Fay for me Bill. And keep an eye on Krys." He nodded and Mira waved to Krystal before she stepped out the door, Krystal's voice following her.

"Good luck at work Mira!"

* * *

I tapped a few keys on the dash board, readjusting the G-diffusion field for the tenth time. A sigh escaped my mouth as my eye's drifted over to the small picture I had stuck to the dashboard. Even in a printed photo, Mira's sapphire eyes could still pull me into a trance. It was a small wallet sized photo of Mira, from shortly before I joined the Star Fox team almost seven months ago. She had been standing out on the HQ's balcony when Katt had gotten her attention, snapping a picture of her smiling, the sun setting off in the back ground. I touched the picture and a single tear slipped out of my eye, the faintest trace of a smile at my lips. _I cant believe it's been three months already._

"Hey Falco, how are things on your end?" Falco's modified Arwing slipped up beside mine as he spoke.

"Not a peep buddy." I smirked as I gently slipped around another asteroid. Falco's Arwing was a modified Arwing Interceptor, with enlarged G-diffusers and small, feather like G-Diffusers running along the wings. This coupled with bigger ion engines, and a rail cannon attached along the underside of the fighter, gave it insane maneuverability and firepower, at the loss of some speed. He had also added a pair of Plasma cannons into the tips of the split nose, lighter than those normally on the Arwings but providing a little more malleability with his fighting style at the loss of shielding. The fighter was also repainted, the hull being stark white with a wedge shaped area around the cockpit painted a deep blue, as well as the G-diffusers. Although I had upgraded the systems as much as I could, I kept Mira's second generation Arwing roughly the same as it had been, repainting the hull a solid black and darkening the canopy. Our two fighters gracefully ducked and weaved through the asteroids until we reached a clearing that had an old mining base in the center. It had once been the home base of the notorious Star Wolf until Star Fox had driven them out, leaving the base abandoned. A perfect hiding place for members of the Andross remnant.

"This is Ghost to Shadow leader, we have arrived on site and will have the defenses cleared out in five mikes. You are cleared to begin your approach." The entire group had taken to using call signs, primarily to hide who we were, myself being Ghost, Falco being Sky Claw, and Shadow team was the code name for the Special Forces unit under Captain Ramirez. His voice came back over the radio, in the same deliberate careful speech the burly Hispanic had always had.

"Roger that Ghost, happy hunting. See you five mikes." I smirked and opened fire on the base, targeting the turrets that had been built since Star Wolf's stint there. Small angular strike fighters zipped out of the two doors, almost a full squadron moving to engage our two fighters. I smirked, casually rolling out of their fire and firing a pair of linked blasts back, destroying one fighter and crippling another. Three of the blips dropped off from Falco's fire, leaving only seven more fighters. I killed my thrust and flipped around, not able to pull the near instant flip Falco's craft did. But it ended up in my advantage, being far enough back from the enemy craft to let loose a barrage of eight missiles, five of the fighters detonating from the weapons. The other three were quickly mopped up by Falco before we both turned our fighters back toward the base, finishing off the remaining turrets.

"Ghost to all elements, area secured, we are clear for boarding procedures." Falco didn't even respond to me, lining up on one of the hanger doors and firing his rail gun, the door blasting inward. A few more plasma blasts slagged what remained of the door, an atmospheric shield keeping the air in the station. As soon as it was clear, I shot into the hanger, hovering above the deck and firing on the soldiers inside, careful to not hit the large cylindrical reactor in the center of the area. As soon as the enemy stopped shooting, I set my fighter down on the hanger floor, grabbing my rifle and slipping out of the cockpit. The dropship came in as I swept the room, the craft landing on the deck. The dropship was a quad engine craft, looking like a mixture between the Chinook and the Osprey. As soon as it touched down, the rear ramp dropped and a dozen armored humans trotted out, weapons raised. Behind them were a pair of Cornerians, Wolf and Fox. Wolf was, as the name implied, a very wolf looking person with dark grey fur and matching grey eye. One of his eyes was covered with a glass plate, glowing an eerie red from underneath it. Fox was, again as the name implied, an orange and white Fox with deep emerald eyes. Both of them were relaxed as they marched over to me, smiling.

"Any trouble Ghost?" Wolf's deep voice was the one speaking.

"not one bit Timber. Now where?" he used his small Cornerian carbine to point up at the ceiling, making me sigh. "Shoulda known. Lead the way." We spread out as we moved forward, leaving eight of the UEC soldiers at the dropship and fighter. After several shallow ramps and an elevator ride, we arrived in the command and control area of the station, not encountering a single piece of resistance. It was dark in the triangular halls, forcing the group to all pull out night vision goggles. Mine hummed to life, plunging me into a strange green version of the world. Fox was on point, Wolf just behind to his right, and myself behind and to his left. Anytime we came across a crossway, Wolf and I would aim down it, looking for any signs of the enemy. Suddenly, as I was aiming down a side hall, Fox's carbine went off, causing me to snap my rifle down the main hall. There were at least four soldiers stepping out of side halls, one collapsing from Fox's shot. I squeezed the trigger and my rifle sent a burst of blue bolts down the hall as red bolts ripped back at us. My burst dropped two of the shooters, only to have three more take their places. At this point, the entire group had slid into the side halls and doors for cover, silvery bolts from the human plasma rifles joining the frantic battle.

"Ya know, I'm kinda getting tired of shooting up this place. Gets a little too repetitive!" Both Wolf and myself glared at Fox as red bolts continued to rip by.

"Well I'd rather my hide wasn't tanned here! Ghost, on me, lets flank these fuckers!" Wolf darted across to my side of the hall, leading the way through a side hallway. We came up on their flank and I opened fire, letting the fully automatic Cornerian rifle in my hands tear the force into ribbons. The counter in the scope hit zero and Wolf dropped the last few pirates, giving me a chance to swap out the power pack.

"Anyone hit?" the humans all called out as okay to Fox's question, my voice following them.

"Me and Wolf are good up here." Fox acknowledged and caught up, the group trotting a few more meters until we reached the control room.

"Will, spike the main computer, let's see what they got. I nodded to Fox and slipped a small drive out of one of my pouches, slipping it into the computer. A few key taps later and the entire system unlocked, coming up blank.

"Damn it! system's empty again! Fuck!" I kicked at the terminal with the last word before tugging my full face flight helmet off, my rifle dangling loosely by it's sling.


	2. Return to Duty

Fox stepped onto the bridge of the UEC heavy cruiser Texas, instantly gaining the attention of the greying Fleet Admiral before him.

"Ah, Fox, it's great to see you guys back. Anything new?" Fox shook his head as leaned up against a tactical holo-table.

"Regretfully, no. they wiped their computers before we could get anything." He cursed, quickly saluting Will and Ramirez, the two of them already saluting.

"I thought I told you to stop saluting me Will?" he just smirked, the expression lightening his usually grim expression. The grey eyed human was just slightly taller than Fox himself, his short brown hair, too long to be in military regs, seemed to be perpetually untidy. The only instantly visible sign of him being an experienced fighter was the set of three scars along his cheek, even though they technically were not caused in combat.

"And I never wont salute you sir. I was, and always will be, a soldier, sir." The admiral rolled his eyes, his attention returning to Fox.

"With the sargesso base gone, I only have one more lead for you. It's a long shot but there have been rumors that Macbeth is not under Cornerian control. If intel is to be believed, a third party now controls it, as well as it's shipyards. If you take the Wolfhound, it may be possible to reach the planet. Find out who kicked the CDF out. Ramirez, have your team prep suit and tie gear. No evidence that you are UEC soldiers." Fox nodded as the Admiral prepped a drive with an intel packet, a new voice filling the room.

"Admiral Ronald Douglas, why are there Cornerians on the bridge of your vessel!" the owner of the voice was none other than Prime Minister Barkov, the leader of the Russian Federation and the man in command of the entire Lylat theater. Fox's eyes bounced between the two humans as the ornately dressed man strode onto the bridge almost as if he owned the place.

"These men are mercenaries in the employ of the United States of America. They have been providing us with intel and support since this war started." The prime minister eyed both Fox and Wolf, who was staying well away from the group, very suspiciously, up until his eyes reached Will. They seemed to bore into Will, taking in every inch of his ragged uniform and chest rig.

"You, where do I know you from!?" He remained at a position of attention, speaking very calmly.

"Second Lieutenant Hawkins, U.S. Special Operations sir." He had been placed in the Ship's system as a member of the crew, with no recorded assignment, so that he wasn't as suspicious as he would be otherwise.

"Why is your gear so ragged Lieutenant!" Douglas moved to intervene but a glare from the Prime Minister stopped him.

"I've been on special assignment for six months sir, equipment condition has not been a priority sir!" the man gave Will one last funny look at Will before he rounded on the Admiral.

"Admiral, I don't care what you are paying them, filth like these, _dogs_ , should not be allowed on the bridge! This is one of the most technologically advanced vessels in the UEC fleet! And it should stay that way!" the man turned and stormed out. Douglas was speaking the second the door closed.

"Yeomen, why was I not informed of Barkov's presence?" a small orb appeared on the holo-table, a voice popping out of the speakers.

"His orders were to not inform you of his arrival sir." The voice speaking was an Artificial intelligence, one of the area's humanity had actually surpassed Corneria in. AI's were sentient computers, able to perform actions and manage internal systems like no living person could. Every ship in the U.S. fleet had an AI on board. Douglas sighed before he spoke again.

"Yeomen, next time, tell me. No one is allowed on my ship without my say so." The voice instantly responded as Douglas turned back to Fox and the others.

"Alright, one last thing before you all go. Will, this came over the Mil band while you were gone." He tapped a few keys bringing up what looked like documents. "By President Monroe herself's request, you are to be re activated as a member of the United States Army at the rank of Captain, should you choose to accept. You will officially be assigned to this vessel under special operations. Due to that, all operational files are sealed, encrypted and viewable by only the president and whomever she deems fit." Will's eyes widened, Fox's jaw dropping out as well.

"But, legally, aren't I a traitor? I've killed thousands of humans as a combat pilot, fighting against the United States." Douglas just smiled, already continuing.

"Yes, but Monroe has over looked that in light of the fact that you were technically a mercenary, and having witnessed the massacre on Corneria, no one can blame you for taking that side in the war. What matters to her, is that you are now trying to end the war." Will was silent, staring at his feet. Fox moved over to him, already speaking.

"Will, you are not gonna get another offer like that, I'd take it if I were you." He glanced at Fox for a second before he finally sighed and stepped up to the console.

"Alright. I will." Douglas nodded, a holographic hand print reader appearing, Will placing his right hand in it. The holographic box turned green and the documents slipped away. He saluted Douglas, Douglas returning it before he turned and marched for the door, Fox following him out.

* * *

Mira sighed as she scrubbed out a glass she had retrieved from the counter when a swine at the bar shouted at her.

"Mutt! Nother drink here!" she sighed, setting the glass down and grabbing a bottle of liquor off the back counter, quickly pouring him another drink and going back to what she was doing. "Mutt!" she tried to not chuck the glass in her hand at him as she turned around.

"Need something else sir?" the swine smiled, about to speak when music suddenly played from Mira's wrist computer. A song that was all too familiar to her. When she heard it, the glass in her hand slipped out, shattering on the floor. With out a backwards glance, she shot out the back door and into the alley behind the building. Heart pounding, she clicked the answer button, the human song cutting off. A small foot tall hologram of Will appeared, his hair looking freshly cut and surprisingly tidy. He was in a t-shirt and grey cargo pants that had more than one repaired rip, and a black chest rig on, his rifle slung across his chest.

"Hey Mira." She sunk up against the wall as he smiled at her, tears stinging her eyes.

"Will…" her voice was barely a whisper, too happy to speak. His smile seemed to broaden at the sound of her voice, no matter how small it was.

"I…. it's amazing to see you Mira. I'm so sorry I haven't contacted you." She just smiled and laughed, hoping this wasn't just some dream.

"It's fine, I'm sure you've been really busy. Are you guys alright?" he nodded, resting his arms over the stock of his rifle.

"Yeah. No injuries yet, surprisingly. Or maybe not. Pirates tend to not have the training that the UEC has. I'm not technically supposed to be talking to you. Fox wants us to stay out of touch with you, in case things go south for us." She nodded, being able to understand that. Silence stretched between them for a few seconds until tears started to leak out of his eyes.

"Are you okay Will?" he nodded, wiping the moisture away.

"Just… god I've missed you so much. I dream about you every night." Her every instinct was to hug him, but it ripped a hole in her chest knowing that she couldn't.

"I've missed you too Will." He sighed as he tugged at something around his neck, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

"I have something to show you Mira." He finally got what ever it was free, holding the thin chain out so she could see the two flat, ovular disks, edged in rubber. They were extremely shiny and new. She pulled out the set she was wearing, only one of the two disks having the black rubber edging, which was pitted and ripped, the other disk with a dent dead center of it and neither as shiny as the ones he was wearing.

"Are you, what I think that means, again?" he nodded, already speaking.

"Yes, but don't worry, it doesn't mean I'm not coming back. It makes thing simpler and safer for me and the others over here." She nodded and smiled.

"Well, I trust you. If you think it's the right move, then it is. Promise me you will be careful though?" he smirked at her as he responded.

"Since when have I ever been careful? But yeah, seriously, I will. You be careful too, okay?" she nodded and he waved before hanging up, leaving her sitting there with a smile on her face.

"Well, I was about to fire you." She jumped at the sound of her boss's voice, quickly launching to her feet. He was a slightly overweight brown and black canine, Will having always said that he looked like a German Shepard.

"I… shit, I'm sorry sir!" he chuckled and gently clapped her shoulder.

"Since that guy looked like that boyfriend of yours, I'll let it slide this time. Next time, if he calls at work, set the glass down, write it on the board, then step out. And only if he calls, otherwise, ignore it." her mouth fell open without her prompting it to do so, shocked at how casual he was about the whole affair.

"Yes sir." He nodded and stepped back for the door, already speaking.

"Now go clean up that glass, I'm taking the cost out of your paycheck." She nodded and darted inside to do as he said.

* * *

I shuffled through the streets of Macbeth, seeing people scurry into alleyways when they saw me. I sighed, knowing why, and hating it all the more. Suddenly, I felt a tug on my hand, and I looked down to see a kid, maybe six or seven years old, in shabby torn clothing. His black and brown fur was coated with dirt and grime, and the smell coming off of him was enormous. But, even through all of the dirt, he reminded me of a small German Shepard. I smiled at him when I saw him, crouching down to his level.

"Hey there little guy. What's your name?" his ears flattened and he backed off slightly.

"I… my name is Maxi." I held my hand out to him, making sure to keep the rifle pointed away from the small child. He gingerly shook my hand as I spoke.

"My name's Will. How old are you?" he shuffled his feet, eyes cast downward.

"Seven." I smiled and gently lifted his chin until his puppy like brown eyes were looking back at me.

"Do you want to spend a night somewhere warm, maybe get this grime off ya and a good meal?" the kid tentatively nodded and I let my smile expand.

"Well, lets go. My apartment isn't real far away. if you want too." He nodded, but looked back at the alleyway behind him. "Got a friend back there or something?" he nodded, and single tear slipped out.

"My friend, she's hurt!" I smiled and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"So, let's help her." He smiled and threw his arms around my neck. I rolled my eyes and patted his back before he released me, speaking quickly.

"Oh thank you so much! Come this way!" he stood and ran into the alleyway, myself just trotting after him. After a turn, the alley way turned very dark, the boy crouched at a pile of blankets and beckoning me. As I drew closer, something about the blanket's lack of movement caused the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. My instincts kicked into over drive, my head flicking around to check behind me before I looked up, seemingly at the exact moment that a figure dropped off the eaves above, straight for me. I instantly reacted, side stepping and flipping my rifle into stun as I raised it. The figure hit the ground and rolled, assuming a hand to hand combat position. She was a feline, with very long ears with black tips and tuffs of hair coming out of them. Her fur was a golden color and covered in black spots, almost like a lynx. She was almost as filthy as the kid.

"So, thought you would take advantage of a little kid?" I raised an eyebrow at her, my sight centered on her chest.

"Take advantage? I was going to help him, but I assume this a sort of scam, used to ambush unsuspecting good Samaritans, take their money, valuables, keep you two afloat." The girl relaxed somewhat, a shocked expression on her face.

"Well, you are a sharp one, but how'd ya know I was there?" I smirked, glancing behind me to see the boy seemingly frozen in place.

"The blanket pile. Living things move. That's how I knew something was up, instinct after that. What you are doing here is despicable." She glared at me, her stance dropping out entirely.

"Despicable, despicable! I'm despicable! You were about to take a little boy, my friend! To some strange place for who knows what! What is a heavily armed human like you doing here anyway!?" I lowered my weapon, and grunted.

"Um, I hear mercenaries, are quite common around here. And being an ex-Star Fox member, I kinda need a place to find some like minded peers." I added as much sarcasm as I could to the latter part of the statement.

"And you expect me to believe that you just wanted to help Maxi?" I nodded, keeping a loose but ready grip on my weapon.

"Yes, I do. And now that I've had a good look at you, you look like you could use a place to stay too." She was shocked for a second before she spoke.

"you… really mean it?" I nodded and finally let go of the weapon, holding out my hand. She tentatively gripped my hand, just before suddenly yanking on it, knocking me off balance before she kicked my gut. I couldn't help but smile, expecting it the whole time. Before she could do more, I yanked my arm back, her grip tugging her back to me. In one smooth motion, I grabbed her wrist with my other hand, retching my hand out of hers, and torqueing her arm behind her back and forcing her to stop fighting me.

"Whoa there. I don't want to fight you, just want to help. If I wanted to hurt you, I would've just stunned you when you first tried to drop on me. Now will you just listen to me and trust me?" she nodded and I let go of her. Her mouth opened several times, but no words came out. I turned and started to walk out of the alleyway. "Are you coming, or would you two rather spend the night on a pile of rags?" she shook her head and beckoned to the kid for him to come with.

"Um thank you…." She hesitated, clearly unsure what to say while lacking my name.

"Will. What's your name?" she trotted ahead of me and walked backwards, her hands clasped behind her back.

"Miyu. Miyu Lynx." I smirked as we left the alleyway, the short tailed feline bouncing slightly as she walked beside me. After a few minutes, we reached the small abandoned apartment building that was being used a base. I opened the door to the lobby, Katt looking up from one of the couches with a puzzled expression. One glare from me kept her from speaking as I led the two into one of the apartments.

"Here, you two can stay here, at least for a few days. Feel free to wash up, and there might be some food around here." I smiled to her as the kid jumped onto a sofa, laughing.

"Thank you. Really." Miyu turned her blue eyes on me, flashing memories of Mira in my mind. She suddenly stepped forward and hugged me, surprisingly not smelling bad at all.

"Um, so why are you helping Maxi?" she released me and sighed a sad expression on her face as she responded.

"His parents were killed by a CDF raid. He's been living on the streets since. Just…. Just thought I would help him." Her eyes dropped to her feet, and I could already tell there was more to it than that. But instead of pressing the issue, I turned for the door.

"Well, I'm the room next door, if you need me, I'll be there or in the lobby." She nodded and I stepped out, headed back toward the lobby. Katt was standing from the couch, her silky black fur clashing with her pink t-shirt and short shorts. One of her ears twitched as she placed her hands on her hips, glaring at me.

"Who the hell was that?!" I smirked, rolling my eyes at her.

"Katt, cut the angry act. I found them on the streets. People on the street tend to have their ears to the ground. Plus, just felt like helping." Katt rolled her eyes as we both sat down on the couch, silence falling between the two of us.

"You called Mira." I raised an eyebrow at her, about to speak when she continued. "It's all over your body language. Why haven't you called before now?" I sighed rubbing the back of neck.

"Fox told us to not risk contacting home." Katt raised her own eyebrow, forcing me to continue. "alright, fine, I'm scared. I'm scared we aren't getting anywhere. That… it's nothing." I shrugged and stood, walking back toward the hall.

"Hey, what's bothering you?" I looked back at her and just shook my head before stalking off toward my room.


	3. First Leads

Fox stepped into the lobby of the abandoned apartment that Wolf had purchased as a hideout, freezing when he got inside. Katt, Will, and a feline he had never seen before, were sitting around a table, coffee mugs in hand and laughing about something. Fox glanced at Ramirez, completely confused. The two of them walked closer, instantly speaking.

"Um, who the hell is this!?" Will looked up, a glare on his face. That's when Fox noticed the kid sitting on the floor at his feet. Will slid up onto his feet, stepping around the kid and moving over to the two of them.

"Yes, I picked up a pair of strangers, street rats. They might have info we cant get. People don't usually notice people like them. Thought you would approve." Fox crossed his arms and glared at Will.

"Strangers that could give away our position and our mission." He looked back at the two people. Even though they were clearly freshly showered, both of them, their fur was still matted in places and both looked under fed.

"Look, they need help, and maybe they can help us. Just trust me, please?" Fox sighed and nodded, taking a second look at the two figures. The older female, although young, was still very attractive.

"What are their names?"

"Miyu and Maxi. Both orphans, but Miyu apparently ran with a gang and was a bounty hunter before. She wouldn't speak of why she stopped." fox nodded, thinking for a minute.

"Alright fine. They can stay. Our patrol didn't find anything. Dead end, again." Will nodded and Ramirez suddenly spoke up, walking up behind where the female feline was sitting.

"Hey, Miyu isn't it? um, you seem like a gal with an ear to the ground. Want to help us out?" Miyu nodded to him and slipped off the couch, following Ramirez to the little group.

"So Fox, how long until Wolf and them get back?" Fox glanced at Will as he spoke, speaking quieter to try and keep Miyu from hearing.

"Wolf should be back from his assault in a day or two." Will nodded as Ramirez rejoined them, the feline beside him.

"So, you guys seem to have a lot of humans with you." Will shrugged, speaking for all three of them.

"Well, What humans that are left in Lylat gotta stick together. You have a problem with that?" although the words themselves would normally have sounded hostile, his tone was very soft and kind. She shook her head, smirking.

"Not one bit. So yall wanna know something?" she put on hand on her hip as she spoke, shifting her weight to that side.

"Yeah, hear anything about the Andross remnant or Oikonny?" she instantly had a confused look on her face.

"Um, no. why would i?" Fox cursed and Will spoke up.

"Alright, anything organized in the area? Preferably on the shadier side of life if you don't mind." She sighed and crossed her arms, clicking her tongue as her brow furrowed.

"No, I avoid the shadier side of life. Who the hell are you people!?" Fox grimaced, but spoke up.

"Well, some of us are ex military, some of us are ex mercenary, but all of us have one goal, end this war. So, are you going to help, or not?" she glared at the group before she responded.

"No. we'll take that room for the night, then we are leaving. I will not drag Maxi into that life." She stalked back to the group, dropping onto the couch and glaring at anything that moved, Maxi too entertained by Katt's wrist computer to notice. Fox sighed and beckoned the other two to follow, leading them to an apartment they had converted into a command center, with a small holo-table in the center of the room, Macbeth's greyish brown colors of the industrial world floating above it.

"Well, do you two have any idea's?" Will shook his head, speaking as he did so.

"No. My Cornerian may be decent now, but the info brokers still wont say a word to me." Fox sighed as Ramirez spoke up, playing with the map as he did so to zoom it in on the ship yards.

"He isn't back yet, but Mill was scouting this shipyard. Lets hope he got under the canopy." Suddenly, before he could continue, an alarm went off, marking an incoming call, on an emergency band. Fox instantly answered it, a human voice spilling out.

"This is Staff Sergeant Mill! I am under fire, found something big! It's at the…" his voice cut out for a second, replaced by an explosion. "The Stellar Dynamics star yard! If you can hear me, level the place, I got video data!" Fox cursed, the line cutting before he could respond.

"I'm going after Chris. I owe him that much." Will's voice was set in a determined tone, Fox gently rubbing his chin.

"I wonder what he found. I mean, that Star Yard is big enough to build several cruisers at once, so it must be big. Ramirez, hold down the fort, Will, take Katt and see if you can extract Chris, I'll prep my fighter for a bombing run, lets hope they don't have too much as far as firepower." Will nodded, before rushing out, likely to retrieve his gear. Ramirez sighed and zoomed in on the message location, near the south end of the yard.

"Think he's alright?" Fox shrugged before closing down the map and stepping out of the room.

"He's good, so let's hope so. Keep an eye on our guests, and if Wolf or Falco show up, fill them in. I sure as hell could use the back up." Ramirez nodded and Fox strode off, out the main doors, a now equipped Will and Katt rushing out and slipping onto Will's modified jet bike. He watched as the bike shot away, then jogged off toward the spaceport Wolf owned, where his fighter was currently stored.

* * *

Mira rolled her aching shoulders before she pressed her thumb onto the reader, clocking herself out from work. A sigh slipped out of her mouth, glancing at the watch on her wrist and the past midnight time it read. She trudged out of the small break room, slipping out from behind the counter as her boss waved goodnight to her. She casually waved back as she made for the door, nearly falling over as she ran into one of the patrons.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry ma-am." The spotted feline, just smiled, helping to steady Mira as she responded.

"it's all good. Mira right?" she nodded, not recognizing the tall, thin woman that was smiling at her. She was wearing a tank top and a harness, a pair of blaster pistols slung on either side of her chest. This, coupled with her cargo pants and combat boots, made Mira instantly think she was a mercenary or a soldier. She also had a small strange clyander hanging off her belt that Mira had no clue as to what it could be.

"Yeah. Sorry, but, you are?" The feline chuckled, still smiling broadly.

"Oh, Sabby! I'm surprised you don't recognize me, I'm here all the time." Mira shrugged, the only thought on her mind being getting home and going to sleep. "Ya know, I'm a huge fan. You and Star Fox were pretty spectacular." Mira glared at her and was starting to move around her when a new figure appeared, a light and dark tan vulpine. Both of them had the same extremely pale green eyes, but something about the Vulpine was far less friendly than the feline.

"Sabrina, your job is to protect the target, not talk to her." Sabby turned her attention toward the ever so slightly shorter vulpine, her hands on her hips.

"I am doing my job! You want me to watch the main entrance, I am! Aint nothing wrong with talking to her lover boy!" he blushed furiously as he looked around the room, Mira riveted to the spot. He was wearing a long sleeved jacket and jeans, but something about the way the thin jacket bulged off his thin frame told her that he was carrying some sort of carbine slung underneath it.

"Sabrina….." she instantly spoke, cutting him off.

"You are the one not doing your job, derrick. Aren't you supposed to be in a corner and watching the whole bar?" he growled softly and she was about to speak when a sweet, soft voice spoke from behind her.

"when are you going to put a ring on her finger derrick? You two already bicker like a married couple." Mira spun on the spot, instinctively reaching for her hip, where a blaster used to sit. Before her now was a tall lean canine with vibrant, stark white fur, and cinnamon brown along her face and running toward her back, clashing quite nicely. She brushed some of her sandy brown bangs out of her pale blue eyes, a smirk on her face. Her hair seemed to be an explosion off of her head, long, silky and full in a way that Mira could only hope for her own hair to be similar too.

"Wow…" the one word slipped out of Mira's mouth of it's own accord, unable to stop it.

"Will you just shut up Spitz?" the Vulpine's voice was very low and frankly sounded scared, causing Mira to glance back at them. The vulpine was blushing furiously, looking like he would want nothing more than to disappear right there. The feline beside him had wrapped her arms around one of his, resting her head on his shoulder and purring softly.

"Hey, I think that aint such a bad idea, Derrick." Mira's eyes flicked between the three of them, just now noticing that the canine was also armed, a blaster loosely hanging off her thigh, seeming out of place with her skin tight blue jeans, grey fleece and white t-shirt.

"Alright, who the hell are you guys and why are you 'protecting' me?" the canine smirked, holding out her hand to Mira.

"I apologize for my colleagues there, but my name is Sheila Spitz, former CDF fighter pilot." Mira tentatively shook her hand as she continued. "Commander Grey called in a favor for peppy, asked me to keep an eye on you and Krystal. That there is Derrick Woods, and Sabrina Garretson. Their bounty hunters." She gestured at the other two as she spoke, first the vulpine, then the spotted feline.

"Heeey Sheilaaaa! I _can_ introduce myself ya know!" Sabrina was smiling as she spoke, holding her hand out to Mira. Mira couldn't help but smile back as she shook her hand too.

"Why do I work with you two again? The whole point was for her to not know we were watching." Derrick crossed his arms, earning him a playful punch from Sabrina and a glare from Sheila. "Fine, fine, hello, my name's Derrick." He held his hand out to Mira and she politely shook it, Derrick speaking before she could. "There, you two happy now? I'm being friendly." Sheila chuckled, Mira taking her chance to speak up.

"Okay, what are you guys talking about!? What do you mean, Commander Grey?" her eyes were bouncing between the members of the group, utterly confused.

"I used to be a part of Husky squadron before I met those two love birds and went bounty hunter. I owe Star Fox my life from the Lylat war, so when Bill came with a favor from Peppy, I couldn't deny him. Make sense?" Mira nodded to Sheila before rolling her eyes and stepping past, headed for the door.

"Where do you think you are going hun?" Mira walked backwards as she responded to Sabrina.

"Home, I'm tired, just worked a twelve hour shift. If you three want to follow, fine." With that, Mira turned and walked away, not hearing the vulpine slip from the group and trail her.

* * *

Katt wrapped her arms around the humans chest, clinging almost desperately to him. Of all of the methods of travel they had access to, jet bikes were undoubtedly her least favorite, especially if Falco was the one driving. The reason for which still caused Katt nightmares, whether she would admit it or not. Will's jet bike was a twin engine, flat bottomed, wedge nosed craft, with three thrusters on the bottom, one in front, two in the back. It also had the mountings for a turret ring a rider can operate, but Will had removed the ring and the Plasma Repeater that usually sat on it. instead, there was a saddle bag filled with rations and med supplies, slung across the back of the bike, and a sniper rifle strapped onto the side of the bike. She snapped her eyes closed and shuddered, coming to close to stalls and traffic for her comfort. The bike stopped and she finally opened her eyes, still shaking. They had reached the star yard, the massive multiple square kilometer closed top building looming before them. The building was large enough to produce a human sized cruiser.

"You okay Katt?" she shakily nodded, drawing her dual pistols from her chest rig.

"Yeah. Just had a bad experience on one of those." He nodded, quickly flicking his boxy, mid length weapon on. The casing was a straight black in color, painted that way by him. There were a pair of guards at the gate that moved to stop them as they moved closer. Will flicked his weapon up and fired an automatic burst into one's chest as Katt fired both her blasters into the other. Without a word being said, they glided through the gate and up to the building, a single nod causing Katt to slam the butt of her weapon on the door switch and both of them rolled around the corner. After a few short passages, the only sign of life being the group of workers cowering in a corner, they entered the yard itself, Katt freezing at the massive shape that loomed before her, fear leaping into her throat.

* * *

Wolf smiled as music blared through his cockpit in a deep pulsing rhythm. Meanwhile, the fighter he was chasing juking and rolling. _"Yeah…. Let's go!"_ as the lyrics to the human song started, he opened fire, his linked blast tearing the strike fighter apart. His smile broadened as he rolled and dodged a cannon shot from a Verham cruiser.

"Hey Fara, when are you going to hit that damned cruiser?" he heard her grunt over the radio before she responded, looping his fighter to face her bird like one.

"When are you going to stop fooling around and take care of these fighters behind me? And are you listening to music again?" Wolf grimaced, lining up on a pair of the strike fighters following her and firing an unlinked stream of fire into them. The two unshielded craft shattered from his fire.

"Uhh…. No!" Falco's voice rang out as his interceptor whipped past from in front of Fara, downing half a dozen craft in a single pass with the rotary cannon installed on his modified Interceptor.

"Damn it Wolf, stop stealing Will's music, all because you two are all buddy buddy don't mean you gotta do what he does! And we can hear it through your radio you fool!" He flipped the Avian off as he slipped up beside Fara's cockpit. Her fighter was built off the new AL-7 warbird. It was very similar to the older AL-3 and AL-4 bottlenose fighters, only reversed, with the wings and cockpit at the front of the craft and bending back. Hers had an extended cabin along the bottom of the craft, allowing her to have a small living space for extended flights. The craft had G-Diffusers built into the wings that she had installed lenses over to change their color to a deep orange rather than green. Coupled with the red and orange feathered like paint job and the red exhaust from the tri-engines, made the craft's name suit it perfectly, the Phoenix.

"hey, I can listen to music if I fucking want to!" as Wolf spoke, he pitched slightly and rolled over Fara's fighter, switching to the rotary plasma cannon nestled in the split nose of the craft. Which in turn was what he loved about his Wolfen. It was very modular and therefore very easy to modify and tweak for the mission. A burst from the cannon shredded a pair of invaders that were vectoring in on Fara. Her fighter had been equipped with a pair of heavy weight 'ship killer' torpedoes. Unfortunately, they had to get with in spitting distance to use them, because the ship's defenses would destroy the weapons before they could reach the hull. "Bird Boy, cover our six, Fara, stay behind me!" As Wolf spoke, he accelerated and ruddered slightly, before he was forced to start juking and rolling to dodge shots from the enemy cruiser. Fighters spewed out of the boat like cruisers hangers, which lined the sides of the vessel. Wolf merely grinned as the songs words drifted back into his head. _"Can we go back, this is the moment, tonight is the night, we will fight till its over, so we put our hands up like the ceiling cant hold us!"_ Wolf played with his rudder and pitch as he held the trigger in, sweeping fire across the swarms of fighters tearing out of the nine hundred meter long warship, fighter after fighter detonating under the salvo. Wolf suddenly veered upward, just as Fara released the two torpedoes. They were to close for the ships weapons to react, and the weapons slipped into one of the open hanger doors. A fiery explosion ripped out, followed by a chain reaction through the ship that turned the vessel into nothing but scrap. The remaining enemy fighters were shredded by their half dozen craft.

"Well that was boring." Falco's fighter drifted up to Wolf's as he spoke.

"Oh come on Bird Boy, I had to save your ass a dozen times!" Leon's Wolfen dropped in from above to form up with the others.

"Lizard, your tail would be cooked if I hadn't blocked that cruiser shot!" Leon was about to retort to Falco's call when both Wolf and Fara shouted simultaneously.

"Quiet Children!" Another pair of Wolfens joined their flight as Panther spoke up.

"Yes, quiet children we don't want to upset mommy and daddy now do we?" Dash's voice spoke up too.

"Panther, I think they mean all of us." Wolf shut off his music as he flexed his muscles.

"Can I shoot them now?" Fara laughed as she responded, the flight moving to beside a single lone human dropship.

"No honey, you cant shoot the kids." He growled and grumbled, making sure his radio was on as he did so.

"When you guys are done fooling around, we would really like to get back to our commander." Wolf smirked and guided the flight back to a small rundown freighter they were using as a jump ship.

"Did we get anything?" the response was near instantaneous.

"Yes we did O'Donnell."


	4. Whispers and Echoes

Staff Sergeant Christopher Mill cursed as red blaster bolts screamed overhead. All he was armed with was a small ballistic pistol from Earths past, the eight shot weapon being hopelessly outgunned by the fully armed and armored soldiers that were shooting at him. His skin burned in the overheated air from the plasma rounds, himself hoping that the group of crates he had hunkered behind weren't filled with volatile materials. Above him was the massive frame of a verham cruiser, only much larger, roughly a third larger than he had known of the design. He took a deep breath and popped up, roughly aiming at one of the soldier's and squeezing the trigger. Although plasma weapons were loud, they didn't hold a candle to the tremendous bang that reverberated from the old hand gun. He didn't see if the soldier dropped or not, to busy dropping to his gut himself to keep from being shot.

"Damn it guys, where are you!" every muscle in his body was shaking with adrenaline, hoping that they wouldn't wise up and start fragging the crates. Suddenly he heard a burst of automatic blaster fire, the red streaks ripping overhead violently decreasing. He peeked up to see a figure firing a blast rifle in short bursts, ducking back as the fireteam worth of soldiers returned fire. That's when more blue blasts erupted from atop a group of cargo containers. This figure he instantly recognized as Katt's feline figure. And given the automatic bursts, the other shooter was likely Will. The last of the enemy team fell and he slipped over his cover, just now seeing how badly slagged it was from the volume of plasma fire that had struck it. "Holy shit you two! Took your goddamned time!" Katt holstered her pistols as she dropped off the containers, Will stepping out from his shadowy position.

"Well, you know me, always gotta make an entrance. Vulpes' is about to light this place up. Might be smart to be beatin' feet right about now." He nodded and the trio took off for the exit, having to run half the length of the cruiser to reach the main exit. He pounded after the two of them, rushing past several offices before they scrambled out of the building's exit, and just in time. Just as the group left the star yard, a streak of light ripped past, a small blue orb dropping away from it. the orb smashed through the roof as Will slid around a corner, Chris and Katt diving after him. An earsplitting explosion erupted from the facility, blasting over their heads. Another explosion followed shortly after, only this one was much more tremendous, causing Chris's world to go black. When he managed to finally wretch his eyes open, his head was spinning, and he felt as though his skin was on fire. Burning debris were falling all around them, the metal containment wall they had hidden behind warped out of shape by the blast, bending over them. He managed to crawl out from under the twisted metal to find the landscape almost like a scene out of hell. The star yard was nothing but a twisted skeletal hulk of the starship that was being built inside. The walls were nothing more than shattered concrete and twisted beams. Most of the structure was on fire, turning the sky a brilliant orange. Off in the distance, he could just barely see the silhouette of Fox's Arwing, arcing around toward the building. Movement under the crumpled wall drew his attention, seeing Will pulling Katt's semi limp body out from under the wall. He quickly staggered over and started to help pull her out. After they pulled her out, he heard Will speak, but it sounded like it was from the end of a very long tunnel, almost inaudible for Chris.

"Vulpes, good hit, I repeat, good hit. Regroup at the HQ." Chris glanced at him, seeing his fingers touching the small earpiece on his ear. His hand dropped and he gestured for Chris to follow, slinging one of Katt's arms over his shoulder and half dragging her over to his jet bike, which was surprisingly unscathed by the powerful blast. Chris took the feline from Will so Will could mount the pilot's position, then awkwardly wedged Katt between himself and Will, the bike groaning from the extra weight. But it still lurched off, leaving the burning ruin of a building far behind them. _Well, that's one less cruiser for us to deal with._ Chris almost absently let that thought cross his mind as he fingered the small drive of intel he had found.

()

"Mira! Get in here, quick!" Mira barely stirred from her sleep at Krystal's shout. Her eyes drifted to the small holographic clock on her nightstand, seeing that it was one in the morning. "MIRA! This is big, get in here!" she groaned and rolled herself off the bed, shambling through door of her room and out into the living space. Krystal was in her usual, spot, the TV tuned to the news as it always was. She was dressed in a filthy grey t-shirt that was several shades darker than it should be, as well as some loose grey sweatpants that were in the same condition. Her hygiene over the past couple months had dropped drastically, and she usually wore the same outfit for several days in a row, if not weeks.

"What Krystal, you know I just got home twenty minutes ago, right?" Krystal nodded before speaking.

"I know, just watch." She turned up the TV, a female announcer speaking as an image of several fire fighting craft and vehicles swarmed a massive burning star yard. The headline on the screen marked it as being on Mecbeth.

"-his violent attack that turned the Stellar Dynamics star yard into the image you see before you is believed to be the work of a human run insurgency that has been harassing the CDF for years. It is unsure what the total damages are, given the Mecbeth branch of Stellar Dynamics will not release what ships were under construction at the time of the attack. The only lead the local authorities have is these images." As she spoke of the images, a blurry clip of an Arwing streaking in played on the screen, a small blue orb dropping from it before it disappeared off the screen. Immediately following the small clip, it was shrunk to half the screen so that two stills could be placed up, one showing a blurry, damaged image of the front gates. Two figures were stepping through, one clearly human, his features hidden by the distorted image, and the other was distorted to nothing more than a black mass. But the sleek black rifle in the human's hands was clear enough for Mira to recognize it.

"Wi-ill?" she stuttered slightly, shocked by the first image. The second was simply a clear view of the third generation Arwing, the sky blue G-Diffusers unmistakable. The screen changed back to image of the aftermath, where krystal quickly froze the image.

"Look at this though." She opened her wrist computer and put a few commands in, overlaying a grid over the building that matched itself to the ground. From there, the known blueprints appeared in a wire frame, followed by the ominous super structure of a Verham cruiser.

"Holy shit, how did you see that Krys?" she shrugged, simply biting her lip.

"All I know, is it's not good news. Only venom's forces have ever used Verham cruisers, much less had the resources to build a brand new one." Mira nodded, her mind drifting back to the image of Will, and suddenly hoping he was alright.

"Will called me at work today." Krystal's eyes snapped over to Mira, as wide as saucers.

"And!?" Mira shrugged, having only spoken out of impulse.

"he just said that they were alive, and doing fine. Didn't get time to say more. God I hope they stay safe. Krystal nodded and wiped the screen, shutting the TV off as she did so.

"Yeah, me too. Did he say anything about Fox?" Mira nodded her eyes drifting away from Krystal.

"Yeah. Fox doesn't want Will to be contacting us, at all. Also, did you know that Peppy hired some bounty hunter's to watch us?" Krystal shook her head, a single tear tracing a dark line in her fur.

"No, I didn't." silence fell between the two of them until Krystal suddenly stood and strode off into the hall, her arms crossed. Mira sighed, falling back on the couch, now unable to not feel even more worried about Will. Without realizing it, she slipped off into a fitful sleep, the after images of a nightmare still drifting through her mind when the door bell chimed through the room. She stood and moved over to the door, one touch on the door switch sliding the door open. the sight on the other side made her heart leap into her throat. Prime Minister Muzzin stood on the other side, clothed in his usual suit and tie, a deep burgundy suit and dark crimson tie today. His undershirt was a dark grey with a slight red tinge, all matching surprisingly well with his rusty red and cream colored fur. But all attractiveness to him ended there. The lupine was extremely thin, thinner than even Mira was. And his yellow eyes seem to greedily soak in her every curve as he ran a hand through his slicked back, greasy black hair. he was escorted by two fully armed CDF soldiers, who he signaled to stay behind. With out saying a word, he stepped through the door, walking as if he owned the place.

"I never said you could come in, Muzzin." She glared at him as he closed the main door and walked through the living room of the old headquarters, casually dragging his long, thin fingers across the back of the couch. As he did so, his tongue slipped out of his muzzle, greedily licking his lips.

"Please Miss Marshall, I am not here to cause you any trouble. I only wish to talk. The Star Fox team was once seen as heroes after all." He stopped at one of the two massive recliners, slipping into the seat and placing one ankle on his knee as he lounged back, touching the tips of his fingers together over his chest. His tongue slipped out of his mouth after he finished speaking, greedily licking his lips again as his eyes focused on her. The look in his eyes chilled her to the bone.

"And I want you out of my home. Now." He sighed, almost in disappointment.

"this doesn't have to be difficult. You realize that the only thing standing between you and Krystal being arrested is a loophole in the new defense act that prevents any company given a Parliamentary citation, and currently disbanded, is unable to be arrested. I am the one who can accept or deny this loophole." She simply glared at him.

"And? Is that supposed to mean something to me?" he stood and approached, coming much closer than she was comfortable. She could feel his hot breath on the side of her face as he leaned in even closer, whispering into her ear.

"I'm sure a lovely lady such as yourself and I could come up with a… means of convincing me to let Senator Reeves' loophole slide past." She felt him touch one of her hips sliding his hand down over her rear. The second he did so, she suddenly brought her knee up into his crouch region, with such force that he actually was launched a few inches into the air. He folded over and slipped to his knees, clutching his groin.

"I told you, get. Out. Of. My. House." He finally stood up, still clutching his groin.

"You bitch! I will make sure that you pay for that!" Mira simply smiled, tapping her wrist computer.

"You try to do that, and I post that little stunt you pulled to every vid site on the galactic net. From four different angles I might add." He growled and walked for the door.

"You will pay for this Miss Marshall." And with that, he smacked the door switch and stepped through, leaving Mira alone in the living room, still quaking from the encounter, old memories bouncing through her mind that she never wanted to see again. She shuddered before shuffling off to her room to get a few more hours sleep before she had to work again.

()

A stark white vulpine sat, alone, in a room filled with technology and screens, all active and displaying massive amounts of data. As the greying vulpine was studying the displays, amongst the occasional tap on his wrist computer to change a screen, chewed on his knuckle. One screen in particular seemed to have drawn all of his attention. His attention was so tight on that particular screen that he didn't even notice the small spot of blood opening on his hand from his incessant nibbling. He even didn't notice the door to the room open, letting three individuals in. the cheetah leading the small group smiled, bouncing over to the aging scientist, already speaking.

"Hey Vincy wincy." She placed her hand on the vulpine's shoulder as she spoke, smiling. The vulpine jumped in his seat, swearing loudly.

"Damn it Sabrina, would you quit sneaking up on me like that! Shesh, gonna give me a heart attack!" she was giggling like a school girl at his response, the two others with her both rolling their eyes.

"Hey vince, hope you're doing well couped up in here." Vince smiled at the canine, rotating the chair to face them as the feminine voice filled the dark room.

"I'm doing fine shelia, thanks. Hey Derrick." The tan vulpine glanced up when he was spoken to, his mouth barely moving as he responded.

"Stazac." The one word was accompanied by a simple head nod, being a very large sign of respect for the quiet vulpine.

"So anything new Vince?" Sheila was speaking again, her question bringing a sigh out of vince's mouth. He spun his chair toward the monitors, speaking very quickly.

"Not really. Just CDF troop movements and tactical data. Same stuff they've been funneling for the past few months, except this." As his fingers flew across the interface, a set of dossier's slid across the secondary screens to the main one, a large image of a human and the other being of the three bounty hunter's charge, Mira Marshall. "Seems someone built a dossier for these two and looped it with the rest of the Star Fox dossier's. nothing we didn't expect. Both are very accurate. Still cant figure out who is sending all of this data out into the black, much less who to. That and trying to track down that Midnight fellow are about as fruitful as a cow right now." Sheila smiled and patted the much older Vulpine's shoulder.

"You'll pull it off Vince. I'm sure the answer is right at the tip of your nose." He smiled, sliding the dossiers back away and going back to his hacking attempt. Having developed the 'jumping' firewall as he had named it, made it no easier to crack, and was taking him forever.

"yeah, I still haven't cracked the Mil'net's firewall. Wont find out more until I do." Sabrina's voice was the next to speak up.

"Can't Captain Winters help there?" Vince shook his head, pointing at one of the screens.

"Already cracked Mil'net's main firewalls, signal is coming from way up high. Sorry guys." He sighed as he put in a few more commands. "so I heard you all had a run in with Mira at her job?" both Sheila and Derrick stared expectantly at Sabrina.

"What!? Bumped into to me! I cant help but be a social person!" Vince rolled his eyes, chuckling to himself.

"No wonder Derrick couldn't turn you in all those years ago, you talked his ear off." He heard her scoff behind him, only making him chuckle more.

"I didn't turn her in because she seemed to nice to be the criminal she was made out to be." Sheila chuckled and spoke up, a smirk on her face.

"No, you just thought she was too cute." The desert Vulpine blushed furiously and seemed to fade into a corner, the other three all laughing until the cheetah slid over to him, pecking his cheek.

"I honestly have never cared what his reason was. I'm just glad he didn't." Vince tapped a few buttons again, bringing up security feeds around the old Star Fox HQ, setting the bio readers to look for a certain black lupine.

"I hope you guys still have someone watching the building, right?" Sheila nodded, pointing at a building in one of the feeds.

"Yeah, Cole is set up here. He likes working alone." Vince nodded and kicked back a bit, wanting nothing more than to call it a night. And given the yawn he heard from Sheila, and the snoring from the sofa where Derrick and Sabrina had crashed, they all seemed to be in agreement.

"Well, I think we should all get some sleep. Good night Sheila." Almost before he had finished, he had drifted off in his chair, not even realizing how exhausted he was.


	5. Blood Soaked

I slowed the overworked bike down to a stop, tiredly staggering off the vehicle. It had been hours since the evening raid on the staryard, the three of us having spent most of the night ducking and dodging security rather than being able to come straight back to the apartments. We were silent as I made sure I still had my gear before stepping off toward the building, barely glancing at the bleak brown landscape around us. Although not a warm world, Mecbeth was a very arid world, and with out an extensive network of gravity generators and atmospheric generators, the planet would be near impossible to survive on. With no natural life of it's own, all food was brought from other worlds. Being primarily a mining world, there was very little effort put into agrarian needs. When the system collapsed, it's food sources were almost entirely cut off. Simply put, there were a lot of starving people on the planet. My thoughts drifted back to the two people I had run into on the streets, wondering if they had left yet. The second the door opened answered the question that I had just thought. Miyu and the kid were in the lobby, as well as Wolf, with a pistol in his hand, aimed at Miyu. Maxi was hiding behind her leg, clearly terrified. Fara and Falco also had weapons out, but at a low ready. Other team members were there, just watching. Fox however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Why don't you try running that by me again?" Wolf was snarling as he spoke.

"W-will said we could spend the night. Get off the street for a night!" she shuddered as Wolf's voice thundered out.

"And why do I feel that is just a bunch of bullshit!" I smirked, walking right up to Wolf and placed my hand on the barrel of his blaster.

"Simmer down Wolf. I brought her here in hope that she knew something, but she doesn't. she's not a threat." Wolf shrugged and slipped his weapon away, the others following suit. "Where's Fox?"

"Don't know. Wasn't here when we showed up." Falco was the one speaking now, dropping over the back of the couch and lounging on it.

"Well, I was just leaving." Miyu grabbed Maxi's hand and lead him to the door, my hand grabbing her wrist to prevent her from leaving.

"Be careful out there. You need anything, just ask. And if you hear something…." She nodded and cut me off before I could say more.

"Come tell you. Got it." she yanked her arm out of mine, marching out the door, clearly irritated. I shrugged, walking off down the hall and toward my room. As soon as I got in there, I dropped all of my gear, leaving it scattered across the floor of the room. Without thinking, I slipped onto the bed, hoping to finally sleep. But after awhile, even with the exhaustion caused by combat and staying awake all night, I found myself unable to sleep. I sighed and slipped off the bed, shambling off down the hallway to the small recreation room. With in minutes, I was mindlessly beating on one of the punching bags, unaware that the noise had drawn someone's attention.

"I'm sure you wouldn't mind something more reactive to swing at." I jumped at the sound of Fox's voice, seeing him leaning up against the doorframe.

"Yeah, sure." I stepped away from the punching bag, stepping onto the fighting mats as Fox dropped his jacket, leaving him in a T-shirt and cargo pants. I followed him, both of us assuming our fighting stances. A simple head nod launched us into a flurry of swing and counterswing, not really aiming to harm the other. It was several minutes before Fox broke the silence.

"What's bothering you Will? You're not sleeping again." I sighed, glancing at the dark bags under his own eyes.

"I could ask the same of you Fox." He smirked, almost in a maniacal way.

"Alright best guess in five, four, three, two, one, Mir-"

"Krystal" we both spoke almost simultaneously causing a very disjointed sound. "She's fine Fox."

"How do you-" I cut him off with a jab, himself barely deflecting it in time.

"I spoke to Mira." Fox growled slightly, baring his teeth before responding.

"I thought I told you not to contact them!" I shrugged, knowing he would be angry for a time, but comforted by the knowledge that she was alright.

"I know. I just…. i.." his voice filled the gap in mine, speaking softly.

"Missed her. wanted to know she was alright." I nodded, almost missing the right hook he sent my way.

"That, and I cant stop thinking about New York…." Fox raised an eyebrow, taking a few more swings before he responded.

"Why? I mean, I know a lot of humans died there, but what about it got your mind tacked on it?" I sighed, dropping my guard.

"I was born there. There were still some people I knew living there." Fox nodded, suddenly swinging at my face with a right hook that would have been devastating, if it had connected. I rammed my arm into the crook of his elbow, grabbing his wrist with my free hand before slamming my other arm back onto the back of his arm, right above the elbow joint. This put Fox straight into an arm bar that doubled him over, leaving him defenseless.

"Nice. You always get me with that." I sighed, releasing him before I moved to the wall and plopped down.

"well, you always fall for it." he moved over beside me and plopped down, feet splayed out in front of him with his tail between them.

"And you're sure that Krystal's alright?" I nodded, about to say more when the door screamed open, Katt on the other side.

"Fox Will, we need you in the lobby, now!" I glanced at fox before launching to my feet, darting out the door. My mind was racing through what could be going on, most situations having something to do with Mira. All of that disappeared when I saw the small German Shepard on the table, blood dripping down to the floor. I cursed and rushed forward, helping put pressure on the pup's midsection, where the blood was flowing from.

"Katt, my room, in the assault pack, med kit, go!" she nodded and took off down the hall. "Miyu, what happened?" the cheetah was standing across the table from me, her hands under mine as we both tried to stop the bleeding.

"We were just walking through town when these men jumped us! I tried to fight but they were armed and opened fire. i…. I wasn't…" I cut her off, my hand gently squeezing her wrist.

"It's okay. Alright, Maxi, can you hear me?" the canine didn't react, so I gently shook him. When he didn't respond to that, I ran my knuckles down his breast bone, pressing down hard. One of his arms reached for his chest as he whimpered, at least showing that he was still alive. Katt arrived then with the med kit, pulling out a scanner and holding it above the pup's stomach. I glanced at the screen and cursed. "I need the morphine, and the combat clot, Fox, get me some water." Fox ran over to the small kitchen and quickly filled a glass of water, which I unceremoniously dumped on the wound before trying to lather on the gel that made up the combat clotting agent. It hardened in the blood, forming chunks of red gluey like substance that clung to our hands. I tried again to lather the clotting agent over the wound, only achieving in the same result. I cursed, not even realizing that my hands were dripping in blood as I tried to lather more on, finally getting it to stay in the wound. As soon as it was in, I grabbed a bandage and tried to wipe blood away from the injury, soaking the bandage. Another fresh bandage had the same result, sending me on a frantic search for a second wound. I finally found it and wiped the blood away, only to notice that the blood was no longer flowing out. Katt had dropped the medical scanner on the edge of the table, the results of the last scan on it. I cursed and slammed my fist on the table after reading them, my whole body shaking. Miyu had fallen up against the wall behind her, sobbing into her blood covered hands.

"I'm so sorry Maxi! I wasn't fast enough to save you, I'm sorry!" her voice was quiet and shaky, barely more than a pained whisper. I stepped around the table and crouched, wrapping an arm around the Lynx's frame to pull her into a loose hug, to which she suddenly threw her arms around me, burying her face in my chest. Tears streamed out of my own eye's myself unable to stop them. The room was silent beyond the sound of our breath's and her sobbing. "Wi-Will?" she pushed out of the hug so she could look me in the eye as she spoke, a simple nod letting her know she could continue. "I want to find and kill the bastards that did this. After that, I'll help you, all of you, in whatever you guys are up to." I simply nodded and stood, holding a hand out to her. she helplessly wiped at the tears flowing from her eyes with the back of her wrist before she accepted my hand, myself easily pulling her to her feet.

"I promise that I will help you find those bastards, and help you kill them."

* * *

Mira couldn't help but smile as she wormed her way through the streets of Corneria, on her way to work. Although it had been a few days since the call from Will, every time she thought of it, it still made her happy to know that he was likely alright. No one was ever caught for the bombing of the Star yard on Mecbeth, and as more time passed, the more sure she became that Will was still fine. She also started talking with the bounty hunters tasked with protecting her, quickly becoming friends with the two females. Although today, just the one member was watching her, the only one she had never met before. They kept telling her that he preferred to see the world through the lens of a scoop and far away, rather than in person, so he was obviously nowhere with in her line of sight. She turned down an alley she usually walked down, some of her fur standing up on end for no reason at all. Her hand instinctively settled onto the grip of her blaster, resting there as she started scanning the alleyway for anything suspicious. Her heart was beating extremely fast, unable to get it to settle as she marched deeper through the alleyway. She reached a crossroad and was glancing to the right when she noticed a lump in the shadows, almost hidden against the wall of the building. This lump was shaking uncontrollably. Mira rushed over, once she was closer, the human form became more apparent, Mira recognizing the woman.

"Naseeba?!" She stirred slightly, exposing her midsection as she did so to reveal the near black color of her gray shirt, unmistakably covered in blood. "Naseeba!" in a heart beat, Mira was next to her, applying pressure to the bleeding wound.

"Mi-Mira? Is-s that y-you?" Mira nodded, quickly realizing that it probably wasn't a good way to respond at the moment.

"Yeah, it's me, just hang in there, I'm going to get you some help." Naseeba's head fell up against the wall, her long black hair parting around her face as Mira poked her nose at the computer on her wrist, trying to hit the emergency call button. Naseeba's light green eyes seemed to be covered in a glaze, just staring up at the morning sky. Mira finally got the device on her wrist to make a call, speaking as she waited for them to answer.

"What happened?" Naseeba looked at her, clearly having trouble focusing on her.

"I was just walking home from w-work when these m-men at-tacked me… o-one ha-ad a kni-ife." Mira placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Finally, a voice spilled from her wrist, making Mira's heart jump.

"This is Corneria's emergency line, what's the emergency ma-am?" she practically was shouting at the device.

"My friend was attacked, and stabbed! At least three abdominal wounds, we're in an alleyway between seventh and eighth, near Wilke's drive!" the woman on the other side was very calm as she responded.

"Alright, can you tell me what your friend looks like?" Mira glanced at the woman for a second, seeing her wince in pain.

"she's got black hair, light green eyes, and dark skin, oh, and three fucking stab wounds! Please, just send somebody!" the woman was speaking on the other side.

"I'm sorry ma-am, paramedics now require a description of the subject before they can lea… wait, did you say dark _skin_!?" Mira's anger was starting to rise, wanting to rip the device off her wrist and throw it at the wall.

"YES, SO WHAT IF I SAID DARK SKINNED, SEND THE FUCKING AMBULANCE! A PERSON IS DYING HERE!" her breath was coming in ragged gasps as she snarled at the device.

"I'm sorry ma-am, Ambulances are not authorized to pick up human's, under article nine of the new defense act. Good day ma-am." The device hung up and Mira rammed one of her blood covered fingers back on the call button, calling the emergency services again. Minutes dragged by without a response until a voice, male this time, finally came from the other side.

"Miss, calm down, I'm tracking the situation and where you are. Do you have any medical knowledge?" she nodded, relief starting to replace anger.

"Yes, I'm a medic but I don't have any equipment." She heard a curse out of the speaker before the man continued. Her eyes glanced over at Naseeba, realizing that her friend no longer seemed aware of what was around her.

"I'm sending you a patrol car, they will have a small medkit, I've already told them what's going on. It's the best I can do, maybe you can get her to a private hospital in time. Good luck." She sighed, grateful to whomever the man on the other end was.

"Thank you." With that the emergency staff member muted his end of the call, an audio message telling her to stay on the line. Her attention returned to Naseeba, waving one of her blood covered hands in front of Naseeba's face. She didn't react, causing Mira's heart to jump into her throat. "Hey, Naseeba?" she still didn't respond, causing Mira to start panicking again. She quickly felt for a pulse in her throat, finding none. She glanced down at her hand that was still holding pressure on the once bleeding stomach of her friend, no fresh blood leaking out. "Sir….. She's….. she's gone." Mira couldn't help but cry, letting her blood soaked hands drop to her lap.


	6. Midnight's Mission

Krystal slowly shuffled out of her room, picking up the remote off the couch and clicking the TV on before she made her way to the kitchen to scrounge up some sort of breakfast. The voice of the usual female anchor popped to life as she poured out a bowl of cereal.

"-ich begs the question, where are they now? this and more as I pass this hot topic off to the debate room, Tom?" her eyes glanced at the screen, seeing the scrolling message along the bottom. Star Fox, Where are they now? curious, she plopped down on the couch to watch, the usual conference room appearing before her. the male canine that ran CNN's talk room was sitting alone in the room, the camera focused on him.

"Thank you, Marie. Now as some of you well know, three months ago, mere hours before the signing of the New Defense Act, which banned the use of mercenaries, Star Fox seemed to completely disappear. The last we heard of them, was the infamous clip of one of their members being tossed down a throne like flight of stairs by none other than the notorious rebel leader, Andrew Oikonny." The man shifted in his seat, the camera shifting over his shoulder as a still taken from that clip appeared on the screen, making Krystal shudder with a single tear slipping out. "Now, several rumors have been circulating the net about their mysterious disappearance, from them being dead, to even as far flung as them being abducted by a secret agency. From more reasonable heads, was that they are now in police custody, and the police simply wont reveal that yet. Now I have been doing some digging, following the paper trail following their disbandment. All of their mercenary licenses were turned in before the New Defense act was signed into law, which actually protects them from being arrested at this time. As I previously mentioned in my interview with Detective Balk Wulfern, the Great Fox can still be seen, firmly moored to the orbital repair station. Now, legally, the Great Fox is owned by Peppy Hare, or, as he is known now, General Peppy Hare, the main commander of our military. You heard me, the owner of the Great Fox is currently our military leader, by direct request of General Pepper himself. I also managed to track down several of the groups less known pilots." As he continued to speak, images of Peppy in his formal uniform, herself, Mira, Bill, and Lucy all appeared on the screen.

"Lucy Hare, daughter of General Hare, is currently in rehab at a local hospital, Bill Grey, Former CDF fighter pilot, has returned to the military, and has been put in command of Corneria City's local air defense squadrons. That particular piece of information was very hard to find, but was nothing compared to what it took to find what follows. Mira Marshall and Krystal, a Cerinian with no last name, are rumored to be living out of the old Star Fox head quarters. But, the rest of the team, including it's now infamous human member, have disappeared, or have they?" the two images from the Stellar Dynamics report appeared, showing the Arwing and the two figures again.

"Although the images are damaged, it can clearly be seen that the Arwing in the image has the same colorization as those flown by the once renowned Star Fox team. And although one figure in the second image is clearly human, the second figure has been identified as a lylatian, as shown by the tail in this image." As he spoke, the image zoomed next to the blurred figure's leg, where a pixelated tail could be seen curling away from the figure, thin and smooth, much like Katt's.

"Hmm, so now the whole system all knows where they are. Great." She grunted, about to turn the Tv off again when the man continued.

"Which begs the question, has the Star Fox team gone rouge, trying to attack our infrastructure? Or is there something more sinister going on here? Find out when we return!" Krystal was curious enough that she didn't shut the screen off, eating her cereal as a commercial about car sales flashed past. The door suddenly opened, startling Krystal for a second. She relaxed as she realized that it was just Mira. Curious as to why she was home so early, she started to stand, only to see the blood all over Mira's hands, and the depressed expression on her face. Krystal lightly leapt over the couch, already speaking.

"Mira, what happened?!" she seemed to not notice Krystal speaking, slumping up against the wall of the apartment. Krystal gently grabbed her shoulder, feeling flashes of someone up against a wall, bleeding out.

"They didn't even try to save her." Krystal couldn't help but be confused, almost instantly speaking.

"Who?" Mira started crying, not even trying to slow the tears that were soaking her fur.

"Naseeba, one of Will's friends! They just let her die! All because she was human!" Krystal sighed, pulling the younger woman into a hug, using her telepathy and a gentle sound to soothe her.

"I'm sorry Mira. I'm sure you did what you could." Mira nodded, hugging the older vulpine right back. Krystal suddenly stood, pulling Mira up by her arm. "Come on, lets go get you cleaned up." Mira suddenly stopped pulling her arm out of Krystal's hand.

"We need to tell Will. He would… he would want to know." Krystal nodded, beckoning for Mira to follow.

"We will, let's just clean you off first." Mira finally nodded again, following Krystal into the hallway. Krystal lead her to the hallway, turning the faucet on for her. one look at how badly she was shaking told her how shocked the woman was. Krystal sighed as she slipped out, trotting over to where she had left her communicator out on the coffee table. The TV drew her attention, her eyes glancing up to see the same talk show host as earlier.

"I for one, will always give Star Fox the benefit of the doubt, and I stand one hundred and ten percent behind them. In everything they have done, they have not once stood against Lylat or her people, so in my book, if you say this 'New Defense Act' was a justified piece of legislation, you are an idiot. And that's all I have to say folks." She smiled, mentally applauding him.

"Couldn't have said better myself Tom." She turned and headed back to the bathroom, highlighting will's contact and calling it, hoping it worked.

* * *

Fox sighed as he looked over the data before him, files upon files of recordings of all kinds, audio, visual, infrared, drone, electromagnetic, and a whole list of others, all streaming from Will's Tac Pad that he used. Fox was the only person in the room, Will having only just gotten back from a recon mission of a nearby club, one that Fox was fairly certain was the meeting location for high members of the Andross Remnant. As such, he dropped his Tac Pad in the small command center and made for the nearest restroom. Suddenly, the data stopped downloading as a human song flooded through the speakers, the hologram showing an incoming call. Fox answered it, shocked when the holographic screen showed an image of Krystal.

"Fox? I… Where's Will?" Fox's arms crossed, wanting to glare at the image but finding himself unable to.

"The bathroom. You shouldn't be calling us Krystal." She sighed, Fox finally noticing that she was in one of the HQ's bathrooms.

"I know Fox. But this is important. We need to talk to Will." Fox relaxed a little bit, keeping his arms crossed as he responded.

"What about?" Krystal sighed, glancing beside her.

"Will's friend is…. She's not with us anymore." Fox raised an eyebrow, several meanings for what she just said coming to mind. She seemed to realize that and sighed. "She's dead Fox. Mira found her, stabbed in an alleyway." Fox nodded, glancing at the door as he uncrossed his arms.

"Alright. Just stay on the line. He should be back any minute." Fox tried to not look at the screen, avoiding looking at Krystal's face.

"Fox, I…. do you still care about me?" Fox was caught off guard by the quiet question, responding entirely on instinct.

"Yes. I never stopped Krys." She nodded, silence falling between them. He could hear someone sobbing on her end, assuming it was Mira.

"How's Mira holding up?" Krystal glanced over her shoulder, shaking her head as she responded.

"She's holding together. Got a job. It's just bartending but it pays the bills." Before Fox could answer, the door opened to let Will into the room, Will freezing for a second before striding in.

"So I see the no coms thing went out the window. Hey Krystal." He seemed puzzled for a second at the fact that she seemed less than happy to see him, about to say more when she spoke.

"Will, your friend, um, Naseeba, is dead." Will suddenly looked shocked, staring at the screen for several seconds before he spoke, his voice very quiet.

"What?" Krystal sighed, about to speak when the camera view was suddenly jerked and blurred, refocusing on Mira, coming from the corner of the frame as Krystal's arm was likely held in a weird position. Her fur around her eye's was much darker than the fur around it, marking her tears.

"Will, I was just walking to work and I found her in an alley. She'd been stabbed and beaten. I tried to call for help, but they wouldn't send an ambulance." Will cursed, his hands going to the back of his head as he paced back and forth. "I'm sorry Will, I tried to save her, I really did. It just wasn't enough."

"Mira, Stop. It's not your fault. Okay?" she nodded, her voice very quiet.

"okay." Will let a sigh slip from his mouth as he faced the screen, staring up at the image of Mira.

"Thank you. For doing what you could. We should probably cut this call short, so they don't figure out where we are." Mira nodded, Krystal speaking up instead.

"Actually, they already know. I mean, the media here have guessed it so…." Her voice dropped off, Fox letting a quiet curse slip out of his mouth.

"That means we need to be careful. And that goes for you two as well." The camera shifted back to Krystal, catching her nod.

"We will Fox. You guys be careful too, okay?" Fox nodded, Will speaking before Fox could.

"Mira, I love you." His words were quiet, and Fox noticed that there was a gleaming streak on his cheek, highlighted by the low light in the room.

"I love you too Will. Put a stop to this war, so we can stop this insanity here." With that, the call ended, Fox unable to help but sigh.

"Alright well, what now?" Will keyed the intel packet back up, starting to pick out specific segments of the recordings.

"We stop this war. Just as she asked." Fox nodded, focusing back on the hologram to plan their next mission.

* * *

Sheila smiled as she watched a black and brown fluffy furred canine down on the street below, knowing who it was. He was one of the few people she had ever met that was taller than her, which she didn't complain about what so ever. He also seemed much burlier that he really was because of how long his fur was. Something Sheila couldn't help but love about him. In his hand was a large black case, with his massive anti-material rifle broken down within. He looked behind him before he slipped into the apartment building Sheila was standing in, Sheila practically bouncing to the door to wait for him. She chuckled as she passed Vince, passed out in his computer chair, as was a usual for him. She leaned up against the wall beside the door, unable to contain her excitement. After several minutes, her mind began to needlessly worry, the man she was waiting for having not come through the door yet. Her feet began to shuffle back and forth before the door, trying to quell the wild thoughts that found themselves on her mind. She inadvertently bit her lip, nervous for reasons beyond her understanding. Suddenly, the door opened, nearly slamming into her foot. She jumped excitedly, that excitement dying out almost completely as she watched Derrick walk in, a white paper back in his hand, as well as a tray of coffee cups.

"Hello Sheila. Waiting for Cole again?" she nodded, sighing as she followed him to the small kitchen in the apartment. Neither one noticed the door opening and closing, so silent that one would have thought a ghost had just entered, should they have noticed it.

"Yeah. I thought I saw him through the window, but I guess it was my imagination." Derrick shrugged, setting the bag of doughnuts on the counter, the smell of hot coffee and fresh doughnuts breaking through Vince's stupor. The artic vulpine seemed to launch from his seat, silently and groggily grabbing a cup from the tray, mumbling his thanks as he made his way back to the chair. Sheila couldn't help but giggle slightly, that giggle cutting off as a pair of fur covered arms wrapped around her waist, causing a shriek to rip out of her throught. "Damn it Cole! Why do you keep doing this!" he nuzzled her cheek with his muzzle in a very affectionate manner.

"Oh stop complaining, I know you love it." whether Sheila wanted to admit it at this time, given the scare he had just given her, she did love how cuddly the canine was with her. "Thanks for the distraction Derrick." The vulpine shrugged, pulling a pair of coffee cups off the tray, leaving two on it.

"Don't mention it. anyway, Sabrina's blowing my wrists apart about how hungry she is, so I'll be back. At some point." No one seemed to notice the vulpine speak, causing him to roll his eyes and leave, taking the bag and the tray with him. Sheila had managed to wriggle around in the bigger canine's arms, finding herself locked in a deep and passionate kiss. He broke it off, smiling as he spoke very softly into her ear.

"Make up for being gone so long?" she playfully shook her head.

"No, but this will." She suddenly licked the inside of his ear, making sure her tongue was extra slimy so that she wouldn't have to taste it. he nearly jumped out of her arms, cursing.

"Damn it! I shoulda known, why do you do that to me She?" she just laughed, letting go of him to grab herself a cup of coffee.

"Payback for always sneaking up on me. Why else?" he rolled his eyes before dropping onto the couch, Sheila instantly curling up next to him, pressed into his side. She felt his fingers in her long hair, knowing he was just fiddling with it, something the two of them loved for reasons neither one could fully explain.

"Yo awake yet Vince?" the vulpine barely moved his arm, waving at them in an almost dead manner.

"I think. Morning Cole." They both smiled, knowing that Vince was the farthest thing from a morning person anyone could possibly be. Sheila slowly felt herself slip off into sleep as the two of them chatted, sudden shouting startling her awake, spilling hot coffee all over her bare legs. She shrieked, having no clue what was going on. Her eyes flicked up, Cole having already launched off the couch. Derrick was coming through the door, carrying a severely beaten Sabrina in his arms. There was a very distinctive blaster burn on her stomach. With out a word, Sheila darted to the kitchen and grabbed the medkit, rushing back as Derrick spoke.

"She said that Midnight attacked her! came out of nowhere, she never stood a chance. He then pulled out a blaster and shot her! she thought he was after Mira!" Sheila was speaking before anyone could speak.

"Where's Mira?" Derrick was instantly responding.

"On her way to work." Sheila grabbed her belt, her blaster still snuggly attached, strapping it on. Cole had popped his case open, pulling a carbine out that was thinner and longer than a standard carbine, designed for mid ranged combat. They took off out the room, their feet carrying them outside in seconds. Some people shouted in surprise as they ran past on the street, weapons drawn. Sheila's eyes were scoping out the area as they arrived at Mira's job, easily seeing that she wasn't there. They went racing down the path that she used, seeing a figure slumped in one of the alleyway's she crossed, primarily to avoid people. A midnight black lupine was standing over the figure, what looked like a needle in his hand. Sheila snapped her blaster up and fired, the red bolt streaking wide because of her running. The lupine looked up, casually drawing a blaster and firing back, their blue and red bolts missing him. His single red bolt ripped through the air, Sheila hearing something hit the ground behind her. she stopped and looked back, seeing Cole on the ground, a blast marking caving in his forehead. A scream ripped out of her throat as she collapsed over him, sobbing. When she looked up, the lupine was gone. She fought back her tears, grabbing her dead boyfriends carbine and tentatively stepping forward, recognizing Mira before her, unconscious. As far as Sheila could tell, she was still breathing. Sheila quickly made sure Midnight was actually gone, feeling Mira for a pulse, and easily finding one. Shaking, she keyed up her wrist computer, calling Derrick's number.

"Sheila, did you two find Mira?!" her eyes drifted back to Coles's corpse, trying to fight through fresh tears to speak.

"He got to her first. She's down but…. He… he killed cole!" she couldn't contain herself any longer, the weapon clattering out of her hands as she cried harder than she even knew she was capable of, sobbing into her hands. Within a minute or so, red and white light was flashing into the alleyway, marking an ambulance. She felt fingers on her wrist and looked up to see Derrick, holding Cole's carbine.

"I'm sorry She." The paramedics flowed past them as the vulpine hugged her, trying to comfort her. Sheila glanced over as they loaded Mira onto a stretcher, already rushing her back to the ambulance.

* * *

Midnight prowled onto the bridge of Oikonny's flagship, the empty syringe still in his hand. He was speaking before anyone on the bridge could respond to his presence.

"The job's done. I got the hybrid with whatever shit you gave me. She went down like a sack after I injected her." the Ape turned his chair around, his finger's touching at the tips.

"And what about the canine? did you have to shoot him?" he shrugged, not really caring.

"Needed a distraction. Dead bodies make good distractions. Do you want me to deal with the Cerinian too?" the ape shook his head, tapping a few keys on his chair to bring up a hologram of Mecbeth.

"No. take your team, and go to Mecbeth. You will find most of the Star Fox team there. The death of the hybrid will likely demoralize them. You will take advantage of this. Be cautious though, I don't want this as public as your last two jobs." He nodded and marched off to the door, grinning. _Easy money._


	7. Mira

I stepped up to the bar in the club, turning around and leaning on the counter as my eyes swept the club, looking for some sign of our targets. I saw Miyu up on one of the balconies, along with Katt. After some digging, it had been discovered that one of the men who attacked her was a lieutenant for an Andross Remnant Captain, both of whom were supposed to be here tonight. Fox slipped over to me, leaning up against the counter beside me.

"Sup Fox." He nodded, his own eyes scanning the crowd.

"Seen em yet?" I shook my head, movement out of the corner of my eye drawing my attention. All I saw was the monkey like tail slipping into the private room, causing me to tap a few keys on my tac pad. There was a camera by the door, letting me back track it's footage a second, recognizing the captain.

"Got him. Private room, on our left. Don't think we're getting in quietly though." Fox let an evil grin spread across his face, grabbing an empty beer bottle.

"Katt and Miyu can, if we make enough noise." I smirked, tapping out the message to them before I moved with him. He picked out the burliest looking swine in the whole place, slamming the bottle down with enough force to knock the swine out cold. Fox stared stupidly at the glass, frowning.

"Damn, I was hoping that would break like they do in the movies. Darn it." half a dozen guys flew out of their seats, surrounding us and shouting threats at us. We glanced at each other and grinned, knowing what came next.

"Well, looks like we got ourselves some entertainment for the night. Ah, how I do love a good bar brawl." Fox smirked as we went back to back, assuming loose fighting positions.

"That we do. Let's get started!" a lupine on my side charged forward, swinging a right hook at me. I easily ducked the clumsy strike, ramming my own fist into his diaphragm, followed by a kick to the same spot. He toppled to the floor as two of his canine buddies took swings of their own, myself rolling past them. I noticed a glass of hard liquor on the table beside me as I stood, swiping it. I looked at the orange liquid for a second, downing it in similar time. It burned my throat just like any other hard liquor, tasting faintly of oranges.

"Hmm, either of you gentlemen happen to know what this is? I mean, it's really good." I ducked as one of them swung again, letting a sigh slip out as I set the glass on the counter. "I guess not. Oh well." The other canine swung and I caught the crook of his arm, slamming him into the floor in one smooth motion. The other canine tried to kick at me, myself easily stepping out of the way, grabbing his leg, and shoving upward, hard. He slammed onto the floor, another sigh slipping out of my mouth.

"Damn. This is just too easy. I mean, come on, I've had brawls with girls that were way more challenging than this." The lupine I had kicked earlier was swing at me again, myself just letting him hit my arm as I slammed a trio of punches into his chest, rapidly enough that he staggered into a table. One solid kick and he and the table were toppling over each other. I heard a group of quiet rasps as more patrons around the club joined in, drawing knives and other blades. Myself and Fox were back to back again, Fox pulling the staff off of his back. "Well, now things just got a little too interesting."

"Well, you did want this more interesting. I guess this is your fault." I glared at him, casually slipping my own knife from the small of my back.

"Hey, don't pin this on me! You are the one who had to whack a swine with that bottle!" Fox growled at me a red avian with a small pocket knife jabbed at me. I audibly laughed as I easily knocked the tool away with my knife.

"Really bro, did you think you had a chance with a pocket knife? Come on, grow some brains!" he squawked at me as he slashed at me, the knife clattering out of his hand as I blocked a second swing, then brought the butt of the knife down on his head, knocking him out cold. I glanced back at Fox, a blue blast echoing out of his staff and knocking two of the patrons over. I rolled my eyes as he twirled the staff, knocking a swine's weapon away and knocking him out in the same movement. Suddenly, I saw a blaster being drawn, and all thought of casualness disappeared, my own blaster ripping out of it's holster and firing, slamming into the vulpine's wrist. The shot literally blasted the man's hand off as another canine took a swing at me with a machete. I grunted as I deflected the blade, firing a pair of blasts into his gut.

"Alright, things are getting a little too lethal for me, eh Will?" I grunted as I was forced to slash a lupines wrist, cutting the tendons in his hand.

"Agreed. Think we can get these guys to tone it back again? This was supposed to be fun, not deadly!" an ape spoke up from the balcony, a greedy smile on his face.

"But deadly and fun are one and the same are they not!" a pair of armored soldiers were holding Katt and Miyu hostage, weapons trained on them. "Unless you want your friends dead, you will lower your weapons. I sighed, tapping a key on my tac pad.

"Not gonna happen Captain Davis. But, if you surrender now, I guarantee it will go better for you." Fox was the one speaking. The Ape just laughed, raising an arm up to signal the soldiers to kill Katt and Miyu, only for the windows behind him to blow in, blaster shots ripping out as Ramirez's team smashed through. The two soldiers dropped, the twelve man fireteam covering the entire ground floor with their weapons. Meanwhile, Wolf had followed the armored humans through, slamming his fist into the ape's face, knocking him out cold.

"Shouda just surrendered Captain. Fox, I thought this was supposed to be a quiet op?" Fox pointed at me as he responded to Wolf.

"Don't look at me! This was all his idea!" I glared back, a small smile fighting to show.

"Hey, don't blame me for your actions fox! You were the one to hit a guy upside the head with a bottle." Wolf instantly pipped up as I slid my weapons away, headed for the door.

"Did the bottle break?" Fox was pouting as he slid his own weapons away, the men who were attacking us backing off, eyes focused on the powerful human rifles being aimed at them.

"No it didn't." Wolf cracked up laughing, heading back for the window with the now cuffed primate.

"Ah, pup, you big pussie, I woulda shattered that bottle!" with that Wolf disappeared out the window, Fox and myself leaving the club. Outside was a small car that myself and Fox slipped into. I sighed, finally letting my shaking body relax. Fox glanced at me, a worried look in his eye.

"You okay Will?" I shrugged, all acting gone as he pulled us away from the club, a small shuttle lifting away from the roof with Wolf and the team on board.

"I don't know. I still have that same bad feeling I had this morning. I don't get it." Fox nodded, knowing what I was meaning. It had been almost a week since Krystal's call, and I couldn't shake the feeling that Mira was in danger, having to fight calling her all morning. Fox sighed beside me, his eyes dropping away from the road for a second.

"I didn't want to say it this morning, but I feel it too. I don't know, it's like I can feel that something has happened. I don't get it." I shrugged, watching out the window when my tacpad suddenly lit up. I glanced down at it, seeing Krystal's number on it again. I answered it, seeing Krystal in a white walled room, not like any in the Star Fox HQ. There were tears in her eyes as she clearly tried to sound calm.

"Will! Mira's…. Mira's been poisoned. She… the doctors don't think she's going to make it. i…. I'm so sorry Will." My heart froze in my chest, unable to stop the shaft of pain that seemed to rip through it. _no… please no. please this be a dream._ The thought raced through my head as Fox pulled the car over.

"Krystal, what, happened!" she was crying, clearly having trouble holding it back.

"that bounty hunter! Midnight, he…. He injected her with something, the doctors cant figure out what!" I opened the car door, stepping out as I fought to control my emotions. My entire body was shaking as I finally spoke again, Fox stepping out and joining me on the side of the road.

"H-how long does she have." Krystal sighed, her eye's closing.

"A day at most. She's on life support right now, but her body is still shutting down, even with the machines." I groaned, tears leaking out of my eye's.

"Fox, I…. I need to be there!" he gently placed a hand on my shoulder, smiling the best he could, a single dark line in his own fur.

"Go Will." I struggled to find my voice, Fox seeming to know what I was going to say. "No. we can manage here. Go be with her. I'll convince Peppy to get a gate out here." I shakily nodded, climbing back into the car. Fox hammered the accelerator, going as fast as the streets would let us.

"Will, be quick okay? i…. I can feel her fading." I nodded ending the call. As soon as we reached the HQ, I rushed in, grabbing my assault pack, rifle, and cleaning case before rushing back out to the car, Fox driving us to the small landing pad Wolf owned. Once there, I threw my gear into my arwing, not even glancing back at Fox as I fired the craft up. Within minutes, my fighter was in space, a green gate already appearing in orbit, letting food transports through.

* * *

Krystal sat in the patient room, watching Mira's monitor. She didn't know much about medicine or biology, but by the amount of red readouts, she knew there wasn't much time before her friend would be gone. She could barely feel Mira's life force anymore, scaring her to the bone. From the moment she had met Mira, they had been close friends, and she had always had a powerful life force, something that only telepaths really knew anything about. Every person had a life force, or spirit as some labeled it. some were dull, weak, others were bright and vibrant, powerful. Like Fox, and Mira. She could still feel Mira's, but it was no more than a faint echo of what it once was, making tears flood out of Krystal's eyes. She felt Will in the distance, guessing he had just arrived at the hospital. She quickly stood, heading for the lobby. It didn't take her long, given Mira hadn't even been removed from the emergency room yet. There was a commotion as Will came in the building, one of the security guards stopping him as he tried to enter, doing a full scan, followed by a pat down, looking for weapons. Thankfully, will seemed to have left his weapons somewhere, instantly running over to her.

"Where is she Krystal?" Krystal could feel the amount of pain he was in, beckoning for him to follow.

"Right here. She's fading fast Will. He nodded, his eyes still wet with tears. It had only been a few hours since she had called him, and she guessed that he had left his gear at the HQ or something. She stayed in the door way as he moved over to the bed, gently grabbing her hand. At first, Krystal thought that it was a stupid notion, knowing how close to gone Mira was. But at the second there hands touched, there was a flare of life from her. one that died as quickly as it came. She couldn't help but smile at that, trying to remember that feeling, the almost pure joy that flare contained. How Mira could know Will was there, she didn't know, all she could tell was that she knew, nothing more. Krystal sighed, feeling the pain radiating from Will. She stepped up beside where he was crouched, gently setting a hand on his shoulder.

"Mira…. I… Please don't go Mira! I can't lose you!" tears were streaming down his face, and she could feel his pain intensifying as he spoke. But, with every word he spoke, there was small flare of life from Mira, getting weaker each time. As if her body knew his voice and touch so well that it was able to penetrate through to her, even in this state. She had heard of bonds that strong amongst telepaths, not ever having known that they could exist in non-telepaths as well.

"Will, she knows." He looked up at her, clearly confused. She crouched beside him, trying to put on a comforting smile. "She knows you're here. And it's making her happy. All I can get are these… pulses of joy." He nodded, gently kissing the top of her head, his fingers still firmly wrapped around hers. There was another pulse of life from Mira, even weaker than the previous ones. Krystal pulled a chair from one of the corners, setting it right next to the bed so Will could sit with her. she sighed as she stepped out, sitting in the lobby. If she focused she could still feel both of them, Will resting his head on her stomach as he sobbed.

* * *

Vince's finger's flew over the keyboard of his computers, running dozens of deep searches, looking for anything that could help save Mira. He could hear a faint sniffling behind him, knowing that belonged to Sheila. Derrick was likely in the one bedroom, with Sabrina. As far as he could tell, she was going to be fine, having been to the hospital and been released already. His eye's darted between the screens, not finding a single known poison that matched Mira's, the almost total shut down of her nervous system, followed by organ's slowly shutting down, even with life support machines fighting to keep those organs running. Suddenly, one of the screens, pinged and he glanced at it, his jaw dropping. He cursed, grabbing his white lab coat off his chair back and slinging it on.

"Vince, what are you doing?" he barely stopped as Sheila spoke, rushing for the door.

"I can save her." with that, he turned and left, rushing for his sleek little car in the parking garage.

* * *

I sobbed as I tightly grasped her fingers, unable to hold back tears. I heard someone enter the room behind me, not moving an inch from where I was. I finally sat up, pressing her hand up against my cheek, feeling the soft fur of the back of her hand up against my cheek. Her eyes were closed, her body looking quite peaceful, as though she was asleep. Her chest was still rising and falling, so slowly and deeply that you really had to watch to notice. One of her ears twitched, as it tended to do on it's own, even when she was awake. A canine doctor crossed into my vision, drawing my attention.

"I'm sorry sir. There is nothing we can do for her. you know she doesn't have long, right?" I nodded and he sighed, glancing down at where my hand was still holding hers, now sitting on my lap.

"I'll leave you with her." I nodded, hearing the door seal behind me.

"Mira….. I wish I could have told you this but you….. you helped me feel alive again. Without you, i… I don't know who I would be right now. I….. I don't…. I can't lose you! Without you, I…. I am lost. I don't know what to do, I. Mira please, just don't go!" I sobbed, feeling a slight squeeze of her fingers, my crying stopping right there for a second. "Mira?" Her body shuddered, her breath coming out in one powerful rattle like breath. At the same time, the monitors all alarmed, her heart stopped. Every single monitor in the room had gone black. Her hand slipped out of mine as I sobbed, not even noticing the medical staff rushing in.

* * *

Krystal felt one final flare from Mira, almost as powerful as the first had been, just before she felt her life force completely fade. Krystal started sobbing into her hands, hearing the panicked doctors rushing for the room. She could feel the anguish from Will, a small spike of hope having been shattered by it. suddenly, she felt all sense of sadness, of thought, of anything but anger, disappear from him. He stepped out of the room, Krystal standing to her feet.

"Will?" he didn't seem to even notice her speaking, Krystal moving to stop him as he moved for the door. The second she put her hand on his shoulder, he spun, lashing out with a fist. She caught a glimpse of his eyes, seeing them so dilated that they were almost entirely black pupils. She cried as he stepped out of the building, knowing what was happening and having no clue how to stop him.


	8. Midnight

Midnight watched as the human left the hospital, eyeing him through the short range scope on his stun carbine. It was an incredibly short range weapon, designed to knock targets unconscious. He had the scope on it to survey environments, not to shoot with. He easily leapt between the walls of buildings, his specialized gear letting him stick to the walls like an insect, and a small jump pack letting him soar between the buildings. He could tell the human was looking for something, getting ahead of him before sliding to the streets, standing in the entrance to an alley way. The human spotted him, rushing toward him almost like a missile. He smirked, jetting back and up, clinging to a wall. The human stopped at the entrance to the alleyway, clearly searching for him. Midnight smirked about to fire when another figure entered the alleyway, a vibrant blue vixen.

"Will! Stop!" the human didn't even respond, not even turning to look at her. "Will! Mira wouldn't want this! You need to calm down!" at Mira, he snapped around to face her for a second, glaring. But he still said nothing, simply going back to searching the alley for his prey. Little did he know, he was the prey, not the predator. Midnight aimed for the vixen, firing a single white bolt into her. she shrieked for a split second, dropping on the spot. He smirked as the human's eyes snapped up to him. He aimed at the human and firing again, shocked as the human stumbled but remained standing.

"Midnight. Get down here." The handful of words were filled with a sort of hate that Midnight had never heard before, gaining a smirk from the lupine.

"Nah, I'm good up here." He aimed again and fired, watching the human shake off another stun round. The lupine was starting to get angry, never thinking anyone could shake off a stun round, much less two in a row. He kept firing, hitting the human again and again, still with no effect what so ever. He growled before dropping to the alleyway, still firing. The human was completely unfazed, charging straight at him. He started to panic, a few shots going wide. Before he could react, the weapon was knocked aside, barely dodging the savage kick that followed. Midnight quickly went for his blaster, screaming as his wrist was snapped by a punch, the blaster clattering to the ground. He felt one of his rips crack as he was hit again, followed by another rib on the other side breaking as he was hit again. Finally, he found a gap to respond in, kicking the human away. The human was back on his feet in seconds, coming after him again. He managed to grab a section of steel rebar, slamming it into the side of his head. The human slumped to the concrete, Midnight cursing as every breath caused him pain.

"Damn it, you better be worth a lot of fucking liat alive!" he angrily slung his carbine and retrieved his blaster with his uninjured hand, just before cuffing and dragging the human away, leaving the vixen in the mouth of the alley.

* * *

Fox sat on a hill overlooking the small town Wolf's base was in, sighing as solar drifted slowly downward through the sky. It had been hours since Will left, Fox concerned that he hadn't heard anything yet. Yet, at the same time, he understood it. what Will was likely going through was nothing like he could imagine. He sighed, picking up a dark rock and chucking it down the hill, watching the dust kicked up by it impacting the ground. Suddenly, his attention was grabbed by someone sitting down beside him, nearly jumping up as he realized that it was Fara.

"Heard anything yet?" he shook his head, glancing at his silent wrist computer.

"I wish though. I honestly hope she's alright. She's been a great friend, and Will doesn't deserve to lose her too." Fara seemed as down as Fox was feeling, fiddling with one of her long hairs as she responded.

"He doesn't want to say it, but Wolf is worried about you. Thinks you're getting over stressed. With so many of your team dying in this war and all." Fox nodded, understanding him perfectly.

"Well, how could I not be!? First Savannah and the others, then saber, now Mira! Who's next, Falco? Krystal?" as he said Krystal's name, the thought of her dying sent a shaft through his heart. Fara sighed beside him, holding her arms over her stomach.

"how is Krystal doing through all of this?" Fox shrugged, having told her a lot about Krystal, including how his relationship with her ended.

"She's in a lot of pain. Mira was a close friend to all of us. Almost more like a little sister actually. God, I wish I had gone with him, so I could be with her." Fara gently patted his shoulder, the small gesture more comforting than he could say.

"I'm sure she's fine. She did spend time around you. You gotta be a survivor to live near you." Fox grunted, a small smile on his face. Suddenly, his wrist vibrated, causing him to answer it. Krystal's face appeared in the air before him, seeing her tear filled face. As far as he could tell, she was in the city somewhere.

"Fo-Fox, Mira's…. Mira is…. She's gone. So is Will. He went nuts or something! I tired to talk to him, and it was like trying to talk to a wall! I followed him, trying to reach him telepathically! He wouldn't respond! And…." Her voice stopped, unable to stop crying. Fox felt his own heart breaking, both at the fact that one of his friends was dead, as well as the condition Krystal was in because of it.

"It's okay Krystal, I'm coming home. Okay?" she shook her head, still crying.

"Fox, I got stunned! I don't know who fired the shot, but I was confronting Will and someone stunned me! When I came to, Will was gone! i… I think Midnight may have gotten him as well!" Fox cursed as she continued to cry, Fara gasping beside him. He couldn't hold back tears, anger boiling along with his anguish, wanting to kill Midnight more than ever.

"We'll find him Krys. And when we do, we'll kill him." She nodded. Fox cutting the call off to stand up, Fara following suit. He could see the concern in her eye's, ignoring it as he moved down the hill. His wrist computer went off again, him expecting to see Krystal as he answered it, stunned at the image he opened it to. "But…. How?"

* * *

Vince almost didn't even shut off the car as he rushed into the hospital, breathing like he had run a marathon as he rushed through the doors. The receptionist inside raised an eyebrow at his disheveled appearance, his voice ripping out of him before she could think to speak.

"I need to see a patient here, her name is Mira Marshall, she's a-" the receptionist cut him off, clearly trying to sound polite.

"You cant see her sir, sh-" Vince cut her off, starting to get angry.

"I can save her! I just need to get the right equipment an-" the receptionist was instantly speaking, cutting him off again.

"Sir, Miss Marshall has passed. You cant save her, no one can!" his eye's closed, an idea popping into his head.

"Actually, I think I can! How long ago did she die?" the receptionist looked bewildered, responding quietly.

"About twenty minutes ago." He nearly pumped his fist in the air, knowing he had a chance.

"I need to see her body, and I need a stunner, Taser, hell, a blaster with a stun setting will do! Go!" she stared at him for a few seconds as he fumbled with an ID, sliding it through her reader. She gasped at what her screen showed, quickly responding.

"I, okay. I'll get security to the room, follow me." He nodded, pulling a solid crystal like object that glowed with an inner green light. Meanwhile, the hospital intercom called out a code to one of the rooms, Vince knowing it was for security. The nurse brought him to one of the emergency room's, Mira's body having not been removed from it yet. All of the monitors had been pulled off her, the IV hanging on the stand. He pointed at the IV and an artificial pump.

"Get those going, now! and toss me that IV bag!" she nodded, tossing the bag to him as he set the crystal on a tray, one of the guards walking in. before the guard could react, he had taken the guards night sticking, smashing the crystal and then pounding one of the small fragments into dust, which he unceremoniously dumped into a beaker, mixing it with Saline from the IV bag, stirring the crushed fragments in. the liquid seemed to glow the same green as what was left of the crystal, quickly using a needle to inject the liquid into the med port of the artificial pump, putting the strange colored liquid into her body.

"What is that?" the nurse that was speaking was looking at Vince, totally bewildered.

"Apoptosis, if I'm right about what she was poisoned with…." His voice trailed off, grabbing a stunner from the confused security guard as the nurse panicked.

"But, even if you bring her back, that stuff will kill her!" he smirked, setting the stunner to a setting that would normally kill her.

"Yes, but we can treat apoptosis poisoning." He jammed the stunner onto her chest, the full current being vastly more powerful than a crash carts electric shock, burning the section of skin the stunner touched. Her body jumped from the power being jolted into it, a recently re-attached monitor beeping once. Vince watched that monitor for a few seconds, hoping he was right. He was about to hit her with the stunner again when the machine beeped again, and again, building an irregular but steady rhythm. He grinned, slumping into a chair as the nurse shouted for a doctor. She looked back at vince, instantly speaking.

"How…. How did you just do that?!" he gestured at the green crystal on the counter, smiling.

"Little known bio weapon that surfaced after the Aparoid threat was a virus based off the Aparoid infection. It's biggest flaw as a weapon is that it has to be directly injected, but it doesn't show up on medical scanners, and isn't well known. The rest? Just hopeful guessing." The nurse smiled as the doctor rushed in, quickly informing him what had happened so he could dole out the proper treatment. Vince couldn't help but smile at the faint rhythmic beat, finally settling into a beat that was considered normal.

* * *

I groggily opened my eyes, my head feeling like it was on fire, several points feeling like I had been punched, repeatedly. I felt the side of my head, feeling dried blood on it. I groaned as I sat up in the dark space, unable to see anything about it. no matter how hard I tried, the room felt like it was spinning and swaying, even sitting on a cot.

"Shit, where am I?" I tried to stand as my voice slipped out, clumsily falling back onto the cot.

"My, aren't you a resilient one!" my vision swam as I looked for the source of the voice, seeing a pair of red glowing orbs in the darkness. Something about them chilled me to the core.

"Wh-who are you?" suddenly, light flooded the area, making the iron bars of the cell I was in apparent, as well as a white haired ape on the other side. His eyes seemed to glow with a faint inner light.

"I've been wanting to get my hands on a fascinating subject like you for a long time, Lieutenant Hawkins. I have never seen one with such, resiliency!" I fought with my mind, trying to pierce the fog I found myself in. suddenly, as if a key had been turned, I remembered the hospital, Mira dying before my eyes. Tears flooded out of their own accord.

"Why her?" I couldn't help but say the thought that echoed in my mind.

"She was a calculated target. I knew she would lure you into a vulnerable state, allowing me to crush two birds with one stone! And the loss of two members would weaken the remaining Star Fox members, letting me finally finish them off! But not you. I have plans for you!" he clicked a few buttons on his wrist, excruciating pain ripping through my body as electricity ripped into me. The next thing I knew, I was back on Ganymede, fighting against creatures of a nightmare.


	9. The Good and The Bad

Mira felt pain all across her body, every muscle and tendon feeling like she had been beaten over every inch in her body. Her stomach felt like it wanted nothing more than to turn itself inside out. She could see light through her closed eyelids, the small amount bleeding through hurting her head. She moved a hand to block the light, hearing a voice the second she did so.

"Mira? Are you awake?" she nodded, recognizing the voice, but not really able to place who it was. "Well that's good. You've been out for almost twelve hours." She finally opened her eyes, seeing the artic vulpine sitting beside her. she had an IV in her arm, and her eyes instantly wandered the hospital room, Mira being totally confused as to why she was there in the first place.

"What happened?" Vince smiled warmly at her voice, being respectfully quiet. Every small noise hurt her head at the moment.

"You were attacked. And technically, you died. Do you remember anything?" she thought back, trying to remember anything at all.

"Not really. I remember leaving for work and a sharp pain in my arm? Was Will here?" Vince raised an eyebrow at her, confused.

"Last I knew, he was still on Mecbeth." She shrugged, able to remember something about him holding her hand. And she could swear he was hurting somehow. She shrugged, guessing it was some sort of dream.

"I guess I should call him. He's probably worried sick about me." Vince nodded to her, grabbing her communicator off the counter for her. she punched the proper buttons, watching as the device rang, not picking up. Confused, she tried Fox's number. He answered almost immediately, a grey dull looking sky behind his face. He looked totally shocked on the screen.

"But….. How? You….. you are supposed to be dead!? Krystal felt you die?!" Mira sighed, a small smile on her face.

"Well, I guess I just got better. Is Will with you?" he shook his head, his expression darkening.

"No. Krystal said that he was there when you passed and he….. he snapped and left. Krystal…. Krystal thinks someone captured him. You need to call Krystal. She needs some good news right now." Mira felt her own heart crack apart, suddenly terrified.

"You…. You have a plan to get him back right?" Fox suddenly snapped at the communicator, making Mira startle painfully.

"I just got the god damned call, so no, I don't have a fucking plan yet!" he hung up, tears sliding out of Mira's eyes.

"Jeez Fox, what happened to you? I mean, the kid used to have the coolest head I've ever met." Mira ignored vince, trying to get her tears under control enough to punch up Krystal's number. After a few seconds, a very shocked Krystal answered, both smiling and crying at the same time.

"Mira!? But…. How!? I felt you…. I felt you die?!" Vince suddenly poked his head next to Mira's speaking into the camera.

"Uh, that would be me. I figured out what she was poisoned with, got it out of her, and brought her back." Mira couldn't help but be shocked, staring wide eyed at Vince.

"Y-you did?" he nodded to Mira at her quiet words, Mira unable to stop herself from hugging him. "Thank you Vince!" he tried to wave it off, still awkwardly pulled into a near death grip by Mira. She finally let go and he leaned away, straightening his glasses.

"Vince, I owe you more than you could ever know. Mira, I think they got Will!" Mira nodded at Krystal's words, sadness replacing the small amount of joy that had shown through on her face.

"Fox told me. We'll find him Krystal. And we will get him back." Krystal nodded, looking up and away from the screen, at something the two of them could not see.

"Well, I'll be at the hospital shortly. Bye." Krystal hung up, Mira sighing as she dropped the communicator onto her lap. Her mind was focused on Will, unable to not be worried about him.

"I'll see if I cant track him down. Take care Mira." She nodded, staring out the window in her room, watching the many lights of cars streaming by in the distance.

* * *

Wolf crossed his arms, finding himself glaring at the images before him. They had discovered a flash drive on the captain they had captured, Dash managing to break some of the more lightly encrypted information very quickly. And what they had so far found was disturbing to say the least. By what was on there, one of the largest mining corporations as well as the Mecbeth branch of Stellar Dynamics had been funneling supplies and equipment to Oikonny's rebellion since the ape had left Star Wolf, just months after the Lylat wars. He closed his eyes, trying to shake his unwanted thoughts out of his head. Over the past three months, himself and Will had become very good friends, mostly through sparring matches and work out sessions, that being the source of Wolf's newfound affinity for human music. And although he saw no point in it, he found himself understanding of the human's strong affection for the mutt, Mira. So, naturally, after Fox's call about Mira being attacked, he couldn't help but feel anxious himself, silently hoping that she was going to be fine, for his friends sake.

 _Damn I've grown soft. First I let myself fall in love with Fox's ex, now this. Shit, what happened to the no fucks given merc I used to be?_ He mentally kicked himself as he realized he hadn't been focusing on the monitor for several minutes. A sigh slipped out of his mouth as he manipulated the screen, sifting through gigabytes of data that didn't even scratch the surface of what was on the flash drive. As he flicked through the data, his mind started catching words that seemed to be repeated a lot, particularly the word Ariel. Before he could start looking more into it, the door flashed open, his eyes flicking up to see Fara walking in, alone. He couldn't help but smirk at the crimson vixen, the dark light of the room barely illuminating her and her usual tight outfit.

"Hey babe. Got something for me? She sighed, stepping around the holo table he was working with so she would be next to him, her eyes directed toward the floor the whole time.

"Yeah…. um, got good and bad news Wolf. First, Mira, um, well, she… died…. And came back…." Wolf smirked, his attention still focused on her.

"That sounds like some good news there. She gonna be good?" Fara nodded, playing with one of her bangs as she rested her elbows on the holotable.

"Yeah, me and Fox got to talk to her for a bit. But….." Wolf raised an eyebrow at her, crossing his arms as he tried to patiently wait for her to continue on her own. His patience very quickly ran dry, causing him to speak.

"Buuut what, Fara?" she sighed again, taking a step back from the table.

"Will was captured by Midnight, as far as we can tell. We have no clue where he is now." Wolf cursed, anger starting to boil up in his veins. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his fists subconsciously clenching as he fought to keep his anger in.

"Damn it, that's not good. We gotta find him. We owe him that much." Fara nodded, glancing at Wolf for a second before her attention focused on the holo's in front of them.

"Yeah. we do. Find anything useful?" he shrugged, going back to flipping through the files.

"No, not really. Just data pointing at Mecbeth arming Oikonny's forces for years, nothing more." Fara sighed, her elbows returning to the table as her head fell into her hands.

"Don't tell me we got nothing from that Ape after all of the trouble we went through to find him." Wolf smirked, backing out to show her how much data was yet to be unencrypted yet.

"Don't worry, we got a lot. It's just a lot to process right now. I could definitely use your help." She looked up at him and smirked, a single line in her fur marking a lone tear trail.

"Of course, anything you need Wolfie." He groaned as she giggled, hating her nickname for him, and thanking her silently for never using it while others were around. Before long, they were both lost in the data, trying to find anything of relevance.

* * *

Rear Admiral Hawkins was silent as he moved through the familiar corridor on the orbital station Shield. He was starting to show some age, even though his slim build was still heavily built, showing his years of time spent in the military. His greying black hair fit very well with his almost rogue-ish features, matching the amount of experience he had. Unlike other military forces, he was wearing simple grey fatigues, as almost all U.S. military personal did. Other nations officers wore their dress uniforms day to day, even here, on a floating battle station he was currently on. Said station, named Shield given it's original function was to coordinate the U.S.'s anti-missile satellite system, acted as a hub for the U.S. fleets, a heavily guarded station that the command staff could meet at safely to develop strategies. And given the fact that it had eight separate orbital defense stations protecting it, made it the single most well protected point in the Sol system, earth herself only having a few dozen stations for the whole planet. This had made it the place of choice for the UEC's War council to convene at.

He returned a salute of a pair of enlisted soldiers he passed, glancing at his watch afterwards. The president herself had asked to see him just a few minutes ago, and he had never liked making the woman wait. No matter how hard he tried, the older woman reminded him strongly of his mother in the worst of ways. He couldn't help but smirk at that thought, rounding the final turn to where the delegate's offices were being held, one of the first ones being the Presidents. He took a second outside her door to make sure his uniform was relatively straight, honestly asking too much of his old abused uniforms, before he gently knocked on the door. It slid open a second or so later, President Monroe's calm voice calling him in. she was sitting behind a simple wooden desk that had a built in holo computer that was currently inactive, the desk being too covered in actual paper work to use the computer at all. The woman behind the desk was wearing a simple white button up shirt, a set of square reading glasses resting on her nose. Her age showed heavily on her once sharp features, her skin beginning to wrinkle and match her grey hair.

"Please, sit down admiral." He did as she asked, politely waiting for her to finish with the folder in her hands. After a minute or so, she set the folder down at the edge of her desk, trying to clear all of the paperwork away from the holo-projector. "I'm sorry Admiral, I know you have things to do, but I recently got a report from Admiral Douglas that you are going to want to see." He nodded as she cleared the projector off enough and turned it on, a faint pop announcing it firing up. It did a three hundred and sixty degree scan of the room, finding both Hawkins and the president, a green block facing each of them. Writing under the block was asking for authentication. Hawkins quickly held his hand in the block, the president doing the same with hers to unlock the system. They were both silent as the system booted up, mostly just extra security systems kicking in to prevent hacking and eavesdropping on the room. As soon as it was up, she was opening a file and rotating it around so he could read it. "Here." The report was marked urgent. It was only a single line of text, something that was unusual in a military report.

Operative Ghost is MIA, presumed captured. Status and location unknown. More to follow at next scheduled. Hawkins sighed, closing his eyes for a few seconds as he fought to control his emotions. Ghost was Will's call sign, and was how he was referred to in reports.

"When is the next scheduled report ma-am?" she sighed, closing the document.

"A few more days. I'm sorry Damian." He nodded, lost in thoughts for a few seconds.

"Requesting permission to assign personnel to find him, Ma-am?" she instantly nodded, her face unreadable.

"Of course. Just don't distract to many from our current goal. We need to end this war." Hawkins stood and shook her hand, speaking as he did so.

"Of course. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." She nodded, Hawkins turning to leave when her voice stopped him for a second.

"You know, it's okay to show some emotion from time to time Damion." He simply smiled to her before he stepped out, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Vince idly placed his hand on the reader to unlock the apartment door, his thoughts racing faster than he could track them, already planning how to start trying to track down Midnight, in hopes that would quickly lead him to finding Will. He barely noticed the silence in the apartment as he went straight to his desk, a piece of paper taped to one of the monitors instantly drawing his attention. Equally confused as he was curious, he pulled the paper off, quickly reading the note scrawled on it.

Vince, we think Midnight went to Mecbeth. Commander Winters is the one who passed us an intel packet. _Take care of Mira for us, and I'll be damned sure to ask about that human before I kill that son of a bitch._

The short note was signed by Sheila. He sighed, quickly firing up his computers to start his search.


	10. Revelations

I clutched my head, unable to stem the flow of pain I was feeling. I currently found myself in one of the few gaps I got in their strange method of torture, not even sure what they were doing. Not one question had been asked of me, or any interaction with a person for that matter, since the first encounter with what I had assumed was Oikonny. I tried to force my eye's open, seeing the bland steel walls of the cell, not even painted. The bottom floor was a metal grate, as well as the ceiling. There was a bed, but it was nothing more than a metal frame and cross beams, enough to support someone, but as far from comfortable as possible. The front of the cell was simple steel bars, out into an equally bland corridor. A single dim light in the corridor was the only source of light, leaving the cell in almost total darkness. There was no toilet in the cell, just a hole in the grating that I had been using as one, hoping I wouldn't be having to deal with it being in the cell itself. Judging by the smell now filling the room, it wouldn't be long before I would be.

My head suddenly snapped up as the sound of footsteps outside drew my attention. My vision swam in and out, unable to really focus on the bars of the cell or the corridor beyond. A familiar white haired ape appeared in my vision, the same evil grin on his face that he had the first time.

"Hawkins. Will you stand and move to the front of your cell." I felt an urge to do as he asked, but easily shoved it down. _This bastard is the reason Mira is dead, no way in hell am I doing anything he wants._

"Fuck you." He seemed to smirk, but I wasn't entirely sure, unable to really see clearly.

"Now that isn't polite of you to say. Stand, and move to the front of the cell." I angrily rammed myself onto my feet, nearly knocking myself over with the movement, before moving to the front of the cell, glaring at him. "Come now, you don't have to look so angry. I only want to talk!" the ape held his arms out in a very welcoming way, his fingers spread wide. _Wait, fingers? Oikonny has cybernetic limbs._ The thought hit me like a cannon, managing to pierce through the painful fog that was filling my mind.

"I know who you are….." my voice was quiet, barely audible in fact.

"What was that, I couldn't hear you. Speak up." I just silently glared at the aged ape, trying to think of a way to escape with a renewed sort of energy. I nearly missed what he said next, my mind too focused on ways to get out. "Fine go back to your cot and sit down." Instead of doing what he told, I lunged forward, reaching through the bars to try and grab him. He merely took a half step back, just far enough for my finger tips to brush his clothing. "Hmm, I thought we were making progress. I guess not." With that casual statement, and a single touch of his wrist computer, I was writhing on the floor again, unable to think at all as images flashed through my mind.

* * *

Derrick fingered the small engraved marks across the anti-material rifle shouldered against him, barely paying attention to the scope as he should be. _I cant believe Cole is gone._ He sighed, looking down the scope again and returning to scanning the environment. It was a bleak landscape, almost all just brown dirt and rocks, with the exception of a single small freight ship landed almost a kilometer away from him. Sheila had noticed the ship a few days prior, seeing the ship land, and postponing their search for the Star Fox team. With Cole being gone, he was the only one with the skills to sneak close enough to get a good view of the vessel, and the only one capable of adequately using the massive weapon now resting on it's bipod in front of him. Cole had been a trained sniper in the CDF for years before he quit, eventually joining up with Derrick and Sabrina.

"Anything yet Derrick?" he sighed as his radio cracked to life in his ear, quickly keying the mic before speaking.

"No Sheila, nothing yet. It's just sitting out there still." The ship in question was a simple disk shaped craft, with two large cylindrical engines attached to the sides of the vessel, it's cockpit being no more than a curved rectangular viewport at the front of the craft. There was a boarding ramp at the back of the ship that also doubled as a cargo loader, able to be lowered completely to the ground, cargo be placed on it, then raised into the hold. And although it was small as far as freighter craft went, it wasn't a small vessel, the interior being two stories tall, the ship being nearly sixty meters in diameter. Another sigh slipped out of his mouth, staring at the rear end of the ship and hoping something would happen. Sheila and Sabrina were both about a hundred meters behind him with the groups small off road vehicle, having been able to return to society and get food and showers over the past few days, where he had been living off jerky and the occasional scraps they brought him. As such, he found himself respecting what Cole used to do all the more. The man would go out entirely on his own for weeks at a time to scope out the target, carrying enough rations with him, and scavenging water from the area usually, or finding a way to bring his own.

Suddenly, movement in his scope snapped Derrick back to the craft, the ramp lowering down to let a pair of individuals off the vessel. They had a crate slung between them, walking a short distance away from the ship before dropping the crate in the dirt. As soon as they had, they went back into the ship, coming out a minute or so later with another. Both men were wearing dusty brown cloaks, common out in the wastes of mecbeth, masks covering their faces due to the lack of breathable air, making it near impossible to distinguish anything about them.

"Got movement Sheila, their off loading crates, roughly eight by two by two. Look like ammo or weapons crates to me. But I could be wrong. recommend we take a closer look." There was a few seconds before Sheila responded, with nothing but the removing of more crates to hold his attention.

"Okay. Sabrina and I are gonna move closer, try to interact with them if we can. Keep us covered." He acknowledged and settled in behind the scope again, counting the crates the two people were unloading. So far, they had removed seven crates, all neatly stacked up a few feet from the ship. It took a few minutes for Sabrina and Sheila to work their way in front of him, tracking the two of them. Sabrina was wearing a simple brown leather poncho, only really covering her upper body from the dusty area, Sheila wearing a jacket and had wrapped her head in cloth. Both were wearing simple clear oxygen masks, almost like large muzzles.

Derrick quickly bounced his attention back to the ship, noticing that the two people had finished unloading crates, and were now just chatting, leaning on the pile of crates. They seemed to stay that way as Sabrina and Sheila seemed to crawl the distance between him and them, using the natural hills to stay out of sight of the ship. After the better part of half an hour, the two ship soldiers shifting around a little and nothing more, Sheila and Sabrina finally made their move, Sabrina rushing forward with her shotgun out and raised, aimed at the two of them, Sheila aiming Cole's carbine. He knew the two of them were likely shouting at them, but there was no way he could tell what was being said from here. The two crew members both had their hands up, both clearly surrendering.

* * *

Fox slipped up to the smaller side door on the large warehouse in front of him, stacking up beside it as Will and the other humans had taught him. Katt, Panther, and Wolf all stacked up behind him, ready to breach the door. The files they had obtained had led them to several large warehouses storing weapons and equipment ready to be shipped off to venoms armies, wherever they were hiding. Security was supposed to be light, the human team having already cleared the exterior of the building, and were now pulling security on all of the approaches. Meanwhile, Star Wolf and Star Fox were preparing to enter the building simultaneously from every entrance they could, Falco and Leon trying to cover the exits with sniper rifles. It wasnt a bulletproof plan, but given their very limited resources, it was what they could muster. Fox took a deep breath, keeping his weapon focused on the door beside him, careful to not stick the weapon so far that it would be easily visible should the door fly open. Wolf slipped past him, to the far side of the door where the switch was located. A small nod from Fox caused Wolf to slam is fist on the switch, the door flashing open.

The second the door was open, Fox was darting in, button hooking around the corner and clearing the near corner first. He heard blaster shots as his weapon traversed to the far corner, his eyes seeing the small defensive ring of crates in the center of the room, too few to be a major weapons cache. In an instant, he was charging forward, those crates being the only cover in the room. The second one of the pistol armed techs would pop up, he would fire off a quick burst, either forcing them back into cover, or dropping them. The second he reached the crates, he stepped up on some of the small crates, using them to quickly get on top of a container, the advantageous position letting himself and Wolf, who seemed to have followed him, to quickly silence the enemies. There were only half a dozen at most, even lighter security than they had been expecting. Fox cursed to himself as both he and Wolf dropped down, one of the armed workers still alive, trying to crawl away from them, and leaving a trail of blood behind him. Wolf aggressively yanked him onto his back, the canine yelping as wolf did so.

"Tell, me, where is the weapons cache that's supposed to be here, and I'll promise you a quick death. Otherwise, I will make it as long and painful as possible." He was snarling as he spoke in a dark tone, not for the first time unsettling Fox. The man was whimpering on the floor, blood soaking his gut from the blaster wound there. Fox sighed and gently pulled Wolf back, speaking in an almost bored fashion.

"Wolf, let me handle this. Look kid, you look no older than twenty or so, and I doubt you want to die. We have a medic, you want to live, give us something worth our time, and you get a whole hell of a lot of time to rethink your life choices." The man gulped, the rest of the breaching team slowly circling them.

"I-I don't k-know." Fox shrugged, standing and about to gesture to Wolf to continue with his way when the man spoke again. "Th-hey came an-d moved almost all o-of it yesterday. I don't know where, I w-ork here, no-no where else!" Fox nodded, speaking into the mike on his HUD rig.

"Ramirez, send in your medic. No rush, just, when it's convenient." The man started to panic, Fox mentally cursing himself, knowing he was breaking more than one decency law in regards to warfare.

"Th-they mentioned a shi-shipyard! Said their ship was about to l-leave. Th-that's what the rush was for!" Fox nodded, keying his mic on again.

"On second thought, make it quick. Time yesterday." He heard them acknowledge and stepped away, Wolf stepping away with him, smirking.

"So there is a dark side to the great Fox McCloud." Fox glared at Wolf, earning a small chuckle from the expression. "Well, you got something outta the kid. I can respect that. Still, woulda loved putting the screws to him." Fox sighed, stopping and facing wolf right after.

"How the hell did you and Will ever get along?" he shrugged, still smirking.

"No fucking clue. Must got himself a more twisted sense of humor than he lets on. Speaking of, any word on him yet?" Fox shook his head, thinking back to a recent call he had from Krystal.

"No. but at least Mira is still on the mends. God, I pity her. Apoptosis poisoning is brutal. Got some from a piece of shrapnel after the Lylat war. Couldn't even get out of bed for a couple weeks after, took damn near a month to stop showing symptoms." Wolf chuckled, gently elbowing the much smaller vulpine.

"Nah, it put you down for so long cause you're just a pussie, pup." Fox glared at him again, barely noticing that the human team was now inside, going through the bodies and the area for intel they might find.

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"What, Pussie?" Fox groaned, knowing where this was going, but to stubborn to give up.

"No, Pup. Why the fuck to you call me that anyway?" Wolf just laughed, quickly deflecting the question.

"Oh, so you are a pussie! Okay pup!" Fox just groaned and moved toward the small office shack, hoping to at least find something of use within. After several minutes of searching empty filing cabinets and a fruitless search of the one computer for any relevant data, Wolf's voice suddenly shattered the silence in the small room. "I call you Pup because you remind me of my younger brother, and that's what I used to call him." Fox looked up in surprise, shocked at the pained expression on the lupines face.

"Used too?" he nodded, gesturing toward the Star Fox emblem on Fox's jacket.

"Why do you think I had it in for Star Fox for so long, and why I founded Star Wolf. Your father is the reason he's gone." Before Fox could say anything, Wolf suddenly turned and left the small office, leaving Fox stunned, unable to stop the torrent of thoughts ripping through his head.

* * *

Sheila gave Sabrina a small nod, the two of them launching forward like a pair of missiles. Sabrina was much faster than Sheila, closing the distance between them and the two ship mates in almost half the time it took Sheila. By the time Sheila had reached her, she already had her stockless shotgun trained on the two people, yelling at them to put their hands up. Sheila kept her own weapon trained on them, one of them shouting back.

"Whoa, whoa, hey, no need for violence here guys, calm it down!" the larger of the two was the one speaking, somehow sounding calm even though he should be panicking right now. Sheila was instantly barking back, leaving her weapon leveled on his chest.

"Who the fuck are you, what the fuck are you doing here, and what the fuck are in the crates!?" he seemed completely unfazed by her harsh language and tone.

"Alright, alright, calm it down there lady. My name is Louis Bickell, or just Lou. We are delivering supplies, weapons, meds, food, primarily meds and food. Senator Reeves hired us, he's a good friend of the captain here." Sheila instantly snapped back, not noticing the movement in the corner of her eye, out in the sand.

"Bullshit, you wouldn't be landing out here in the wastes if it was just ordinary supplies!" he was clearly trying to stay calm, slowly losing his ability to do so.

"We are, look, I just got discharged from the military, look in the crates, you'll find what I said in there! We are not hostile!" before Sheila could respond, her radio burst to life, nearly causing her to jump out of her skin.

"You got company, and to be frank, it don't look friendly. Three light vehicles, two with mounted guns, at least twelve, all armed." Sheila double keyed her radio, sending a pair of clicks through the comm line as a sort of response. "Should be on your left." She started to shift that way around the crates, keeping them trained in her sights.

"Don't move an inch!" she kept her voice angry as she continued to move, seeing the dust being kicked up, realizing the vehicles were much closer than she thought they would be. Suddenly, the lead truck's mounted SAW started firing, the red bolts dropping the shorter of the two ship mates, the other diving for the deck.

"Biggs! Fuck! What the hell!" Sheila dived behind the crates, firing back at them as they skidded to a stop, less than a hundred meters from them. All but two of the armored soldiers leapt out of the vehicles, using what little frame was on the vehicles as cover as the two mounted guns kept firing, leaving black burns all over the ship and crates. The burly ship mate had managed to crawl over to the same side as Sheila, leaning up against the stacked crates with a pistol drawn. "Friends of yours?" She grunted as she popped up, firing a burst. Sabrina beside her had dropped her shotgun, using her dual pistols to try and suppress the gunners, but to no avail. The two of them did manage to drop a pair of the soldiers though.

"I was about to ask you the same thing! Fuck, Derrick, a little help here!" she peaked up as one of the gunner's heads exploded, a brilliant yellow lance ripping through with an incredible crack. A second or so later, a second ripped past, ramming through the second gunner's chest. Meanwhile, the enemy soldiers had used them being pinned as a chance to close the distance, mere meters from them. An action that proved to be a mistake, leaving them with no cover as Sheila and Sabrina opened fire, Lou joining them. Several of the troopers dropped, but they were forced back down as a shot grazed Sheila's arm. "Ahh, fuck!" she dropped to the dirt, hearing a strange sound, almost like a plasma rifle discharging, but a steady hum following it. her eyes flicked over to Sabrina as the feline darted out, a pistol in one hand, and a blue beam of plasma arcing from the other. She was too fast for the soldiers to track, slashing one across the chest and shooting another almost simultaneously, giving Sheila a chance to fire again. Her short burst, along with another anti-material round and shots from Lou, dropped the last of the small assault squad, Sheila panting from a mix of pain and adrenaline.


	11. Missing

Fox sank lower into the seat of the car, his head resting on his hand, his elbow propped out the window. A sigh slipped out of his mouth as the bleak brown landscape slipped by the window.

"Wolf, what are we going to do?" the lupine glanced at him from the drivers seat, shrugging.

"Keep digging through that data, hope we find something else. Nothing we can do." Fox sighed, glancing at the lupine, pulling his head off his paw as he did so.

"yeah, I guess. Fuck, I hate this shit." Wolf chuckled at him, turning the car onto the street their hideout was on.

"well let's see if the others have made it back yet." The teams had split between several different vehicles, taking half a dozen different and equally complex routes back to the hideout, to help lose any would be pursuers and allow them to be able to react to any incidents that might have happened over the drive back. Fox counted the vehicles already parked, only counting six, when there should be seven parked out front.

"Looks like we aren't the last ones back. Strange, didn't we have the longest route?" Wolf nodded, a confused look on his face as he pulled the car into one of the empty spaces, both of them grabbing their weapons and slipping out at just about the same time. They got inside to find all but three of their members in the lobby area, Ramirez beckoning them over.

"Fox, Wolf! Damn it is good to see you two! Comms are being jammed, and we think Fara's car got hit." Fox could easily see Wolf's muscles tense up, and with good reason.

"Do we know where?" Ramirez nodded as Fox spoke, using his tac pad to display a holographic map. He pointed at a highlighted point on the map, about an hour or so outside of the city's limits.

"We keep getting pings from the car's locater here. Been sitting still for a couple of hours, we can't reach them on comms. Hell we couldn't reach you two either." Fox nodded, checking to make sure his weapon still had a charge and fuel before heading for the door.

"Get one of the peregrines in the air, Wolf, come with me, we're going to secure that site in our fighters." He nodded, silently following, his own weapon readied.

* * *

Chris groaned, clutching the side of his head. He slowly started to remember where he was, remembering the treaded mech appearing out of nowhere on the dark and deserted road. He had tried to swerve and avoid it, but to no avail, the mech using it's arm to send the SUV rolling like a toy. The interior looked deformed around him and it was too dark the really see, but as far he could tell, the vehicle was mostly level. He clumsily unbuckled his seat belt, already speaking.

"Fara, Kent, status?" he groaned as he looked toward the passenger seat, seeing no one there and cursing. The door on that side was missing as well. His body protested as he looked in the seat behind him, only to find himself cursing again. Kent, a very slim and once talented solder, was slumped in his seat, the door beside him ripped off as well, half of his chest cavity caved in. Chris tried to get his own door open, finding it jammed shut. Instead of trying to kick it open, he decided to crawl over the center console and out the missing passenger door. There was blood on the dashboard, a since of dread washing over him, years of training and fighting unable to stop it. his handgun slipped out of it's holster as he dropped onto the ground, moaning on impact, a shooting pain going through the shoulder he landed on. There were tread marks and foot prints in the dust all around him, a pair of blood stains and drag marks showing where at least two assailants had fallen. He went to try his radio, only to find it missing from the pouch on his vest. He cursed for a third time, scanning the area for any sign of an attacker or the others, seeing something moving in the darkness. He raised his weapon as he shambled over to a boulder, more falling than getting down behind it.

"Hey, who is that?" he recognized Fox's voice, his arm dropping limply as the figure came closer, snapping a flashlight on, and instantly blinding him.

"It's Mill!" his voice was raw, barely managing to shout as his head began to pound with pain. Next thing he knew, Fox was hovering over him, a dropship above them illuminating the area with flood lights.

"What happened?" Chris blinked several times, trying to phrase what to say.

"We were attacked. Uh… a mech, came out of nowhere, smacked us off the road. I've been out cold, I don't know what happened. Fara's missing, Kent is….. kent's dead." Images of his deceased comrade flooded his brain, unable to stop them.

"okay. We'll find her. just sit tight, we'll get you out of here. Mill nodded, letting his eye's slip closed, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Lou's hands shook as he gently tied the bandage into place over the canine's arm. She nodded in thanks as they finally relaxed a little, the feline being a ways away, watching for anymore would be attackers.

"So, uh, whats your name?" she smiled to him, her clear mask allowing him to see that.

"Sheila Spitz. And that over there is Sabrina Galloway." At the sound of her name, the feline suddenly shouted over to them.

"Yo. Thanks for the help there." He nodded to her before moving over to the corpse of his partner, Biggs. He had been a part of a bomber crew nearly a decade ago, the two of them meeting just before Biggs left the military, four years before. He cursed as he stripped the useful gear from him trying to decide what to do with him. The brown canine's mask made a slight pop as he pulled it off, his friends cold and lifeless green eyes staring blankly toward the sky.

"Biggs?" the one confused word was from a person Lou had yet to see, a Vulpine by the man's build, if he had to guess. But he was covered in a sand gillie, with a marksmen rifle balanced in his hand. he had clearly just gotten out of a buggy, that Lou hadn't noticed roll up while he was stripping his friends gear.

"He's dead. How do you know him?" the vulpine stepped closer, dropping his hood to reveal the dark tans and browns of his fur.

"We served on the same bomber crew during the Lylat war. I was a gunner, he was the copilot. Damn it!" the feline had trotted over as the vulpine spoke, gently rubbing his shoulder as he dropped onto his knees. A couple of tears slipped out of his eyes before he shook them away with another curse, trotting a short distance away. the feline followed him, clearly trying to comfort him.

"So who are you supposed to be meeting?" Lou sighed as he stood inspecting the cargo crates. One of the crates was half slagged, the medical supplies within destroyed from the plasma fire. But, for the most part, the other crates seemed to have held up.

"They were supposed to be here yesterday. A local police force was going to distribute these supplies to the local food banks and aid clinics. They have been being raided by criminals since the war started. The weapons are for the cops, so they can protect themselves better. We were meeting out here so nothing could happen to the shipment." Sheila nodded, opening her mouth to respond when the vulpine's voice grabbed their attention.

"We got a live one here!" before any more was said, a pair of blaster shots rang out, Lou's blaster ripping out of it's holster as he spun around. He could see the primate crawling toward another of the fallen assailants, a burnt and mangled weapon a foot or so behind him. Before he could crawl closer, the feline had pounced on him, ramming her shotgun into the back of his head with enough force to shove his face in the dirt.

"Don't even think about it." she kicked the primate onto his back as Lou and Sheila rushed over, weapons all trained on him. The primate coughed, blood soaking his tattered clothes.

"how did you know we were here!?" Lou's voice exploded out of him, having trouble suppressing the anger inside of him, a feeling he was very new too.

"Hah, you don't even know!? We killed them coppers you were supposed to meet! How do you think we got here! These are their vehicles! They had the coordinates already in the systems!" he coughed again, still trying to laugh as Lou cursed.

"Who do you work for!?" Sabrina was the one shouting for, the primate instantly answering.

"Wouldn't you like to-" his voice was cut off as Lou snapped off a pair of blaster bolts, straight into the primates chest. The primate shrieked for a second before falling still and silent.

"whoa! What the hell was that for?" Lou stepped closer to the primate before firing another bolt into it's head.

"I've lost enough friends to this fucking war. I'm getting payback. Now I am going to return these trucks and gear to the local cops. You in?" the three of them glanced between each other before the Canine nodded to him, all of them holstering weapons before beginning to strip gear off all of the dead.

* * *

Krystal smiled as Mira slowly swung her legs over the edge of her bed, wincing the whole time. Krystal could feel the amount of pain she was in, every single part of her body sore, and feeling like it had been badly bruised. Even the gentlest of touches was painful to her. but, even though she wasn't taking any pain meds, she hadn't let that show on her face, something that had Krystal in total awe of her friend. Mira slipped off the hospital bed, swaying slightly on her feet, her legs seeming to be uncertain of what they were doing after weeks spent in a hospital bed. Krystal helped her change into some loose jeans and a tank top, just before gently grabbing her hand.

"You ready Mira?" she nodded, smiling to her.

"Hell yeah. I've been wanting out of here since day one." Krystal smiled and gently led her through the door, letting Mira use her as a means of support as she uncertainly walked from the room. They stopped by the desk to inform them that they were leaving, getting her prescribed medicine. They were about to turn away when a voice that made both of their hair stand on end slipped to them.

"Good to see you on your feet again. I must apologize, I meant to come check on you earlier, but my schedule did not allow it." Krystal turned to find a familiar rusty red Lupine before them, his incredibly thin frame cloaked in an immaculate black suit, a dark blue undershirt peaking out from under the jacket, a black tie firmly around his thin neck.

"Muzzin. What do want?" Krystal was almost shocked for a second, Mira no longer showing any signs of pain or weakness. Instead, she just stood her ground, arms crossed and glaring at the lupine.

"What do you mean? I heard you were to be released today, thought I would see if you were willing to come get something to eat with me? Krystal is welcome to come as well." He greedily licked his lips, and even though his words were casual and polite, something in his tone was undeniably sinister. And try as she might, Krystal couldn't seem to get anything from him telepathically, as if he knew how to keep his mind under lock and key.

"Nope. Come on Krys." Mira grabbed Krystal's hand and started to walk past him and his two body guards, only for one of her legs to give out as she stepped. Muzzin, surprisingly, gently caught her, helping steady her.

"At least let me walk you to your vehicle miss." She jerked her arm out of his grip, still glaring at him.

"I still remember last time we met. I still have those recordings. Back off." Mira's voice was so quiet that if Krystal hadn't been a telepath, she would not know what was said. Every eye in the room seem to be bolted to what was unfolding here.

"I insist." Mira simply started walking, Muzzin firmly and gracefully following, almost like a vulture. Krystal snaked her way to beside Mira, the two body guards flanking them as the group moved out the door. Krystal could easily tell that Mira was quivering from both fear and fatigue, having trouble acting like she was fine when she was far from it.

"Well Mira, I'll call the cab, go ahead and sit down." Mira nodded to her, Krystal now deeply regretting never getting a Cornerian drivers license.

"Oh, no need! My limo is right here, I can bring you back to your home!" Krystal stepped away anyway, using an app on her communicator to hail a cab as Mira responded.

"I told you, no." Mira's voice was starting to rattle in anger. Krystal could already see a cab on the road by the hospital, smiling as it turned onto the access. She instantly turned back to Mira, gently grabbing her wrist to pull her away from the prime minister.

"Cab's here, lets go." Mira smiled, Krystal able to feel her relief as Muzzin no longer followed them, the cab stopping next to them at the same time as they reached the curb. Krystal instantly opened the door for Mira, closing it once she was in. as she moved around to the other side, she glanced up at where Muzzin and the guards still were, all three watching eerily as she slipped into the Cab.

"Where too?" Krystal spoke before Mira could, not that Mira looked like she wanted to. She was slumped up against the window, looking utterly exhausted.

"Ten-three-four-seven Jacob's drive, Springfield. Please." The cabbie nodded, inputting it into his cab's guidance system before driving off. "You okay Mira?" she shook her head, a sigh slipping out of Krystal's mouth.

"Why are we going to Bill's house?" Krystal smirked glancing out the window as the city streets flashed past.

"Bill's mom and Fay are staying there for a few weeks. They promised to help me watch you, and we agreed Bill's place was better than the headquarters. You'll like it there. Bill inherited the house from his father a few years back. It's a nice place." She smiled to her friend, who simply glared out the window. She had slowly been becoming more and more reluctant to talk as more time passed, and not hearing a word about Will being missing. Last she heard, his Arwing was at the Star Fox landing field, and his weapons had been left in their room, Krystal having discovered that the night after Mira had been attacked. Krystal moved to speak, only opening and closing her mouth several times before sighing, deciding to not say anything. Krystal's wrist computer broke the silence by vibrating, prompting her to look at the screen, Krystal feeling tears well up behind her eyes at the single text message on the screen.

"Mira, Fara was captured last night. I just got the message from Fox…." Her voice was barely more than a whisper into Mira's ear, a single tear slipping out of both of their eyes.


	12. Ghost's Awakening

Sheila sat in silence as she drove their dune buggy behind the three police vehicles. Her buggy had the supplies off the ship on it, all of the weapons and usable gear from the dead pirates being in the three police trucks. She sighed as they drifted on down the road, arriving in a small town. Every building had an airlock on it, the air being too thin to breathe in this region of the planet, still being out in the badlands. There was almost no one on the streets of the mining town, Lou in the front vehicle slowing down as they began to slip through the buildings, headed for the small police station near the center of town. It didn't take them long, the few locals to be seen all wearing breathing masks and staring at them with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Several cops stepped out of the station as they approached, Lou having used the police radio's in the trucks to let them know they were coming, and what had happened to the men in the trucks. But even still, the cops were being cautious, weapons out, some even as far as half raised at the small convoy stopping in front of their station. The four of them climbed out, Sabby and Derrick almost instantly starting to unload their personal buggy as Sheila caught up to Lou, who was already talking to who looked like the sheriff.

"I'm sorry Brooks, but your men are all dead. We don't know where their bodies were dumped. Biggs is dead too." The sheriff nodded and sighed, signaling his deputies to stand down. Several of them moved from their positions to help unload the trucks, moving the police trucks into an underground garage.

"I cant thank you enough Bickell. Who are your friends, wasn't told they were more of ya?" the feline cop was a dark black in color, small grey hairs starting to shine through his dust covered fur.

"My name's Sheila Spitz, former CDF fighter pilot. Derrick over there knew Biggs. We just…." She hesitated when it came to their initial contact with Lou, unsure as to what the sheriff might think.

"Mistook me and biggs as pirates. Had us at gunpoint when the others attacked." The sheriff glanced at them and shrugged, seeming to accept that.

"I don't blame them. The Badlands are extremely dangerous, and not even because of the climate. I'm just glad we didn't lose everything. Damned pirates are getting bolder by the day." Sheila nodded, unable to stop the thought that suddenly crossed her mind.

"Lou, what about your ship?! We just left it out there?!" he chuckled, pulling a small computer chip out.

"Wont run without the master computer, will it? we'll get back there before too long, worst comes to worst, we lose some supplies, not that we have much on there at the moment anyway." Sheila almost instantly turned her attention back to the sheriff, Derrick and Sabrina joining them to signal the supplies being done loaded.

"Not to be rude, but we actually came here looking for some people. A group of humans and Lylattians actually. Might'ave helped you a couple times?" the Sheriff smirked, crossing his arms.

"And who's asking?" Lou instantly spoke up in their defense, seeming to be able to sense where the conversation was going.

"We can trust them. I mean, come on, one of them is friends with Senator Reeves after all." The sheriff shrugged, some of his deputies moving up to him.

"Yeah, I know of them. They aint in the badlands though. Their over closer to the main colony, under the atmo canopy. I can send out a few messages, try and get back in touch, if yall don't mind staying here for a while. I sure as hell wouldn't mind the help giving those pirates something to think twice about." Derrick was surprisingly enough, the first one speaking.

"I'm down. Never liked pirates myself." Sabby rolled her eyes at him, Sheila able to guess what her vote would be.

"Well, it's a win-win to me. I get to help the people, and I might see some old friends again." She only glanced at Lou, the sheriff looking expectantly at her.

"What, are we waiting for my permission or something? What do you need us to do sheriff?"

* * *

Krystal walked into the Grey family's living room, seeing Mira on the couch, sitting with her legs crossed and feet underneath her as she ate a bowl of cereal. It had been a couple of weeks since she had left the hospital, and she was clearly moving and feeling better, not needing any help moving around. Krystal smiled at the sight of her, glancing around the comfortable room around her. the living room was the first room one would enter upon entering Bill's home, the spacious area filled with a large couch and love seat, situated toward the massive TV dominating one wall. It was open to the dining room beside it, a set of stairs leading up to the second story, along the same wall the main door was cornered next to. One could literally walk in and go straight up the stairs. The floor was covered in a dark plush carpet that seemed to beg for you to drop your shoes the second you saw it's dark earth tone, the walls being an equally dark earthy red. The room had a very welcoming feel to it, even given the only light being from the active TV and the creeping sunlight in the bay window dominating most of the front wall.

"Hey Mira. See anything interesting?" she gestured at the talk show for CNN that was currently playing, wanting to scowl at the new female hostess. The old host had been fired after his statements against the new defense act, a female snubnosed canine taking his place and turning the show into a massive insult fest against any of Muzzin's political advisories, almost never mentioning the war at all anymore. Mira just shrugged, focused mostly on her food as Krystal sat down on the couch. Mira hadn't been speaking much, usually just to ask for help moving or something small like that. A pure white mass broke Krystal's train of thought, dropping over the back of the couch to land between them, grinning. Fay Collie was a very bouncy bubbly person, especially now that she was fully healed.

"Hey guys, hows it going!? Oh, wow, Krystal, you showered for a change, didn't you?!" Krystal's shoulders slumped slightly as she fingered her unusually smooth hair, having finally started to take care of herself now.

"Yup, just felt like it this morning. Sleep well Fay?" she turned bright red, Krystal not having to read her mind as too why. Krystal and Mira were sharing an upstairs room, right next to bill's room. And the screams of pleasure coming from with in had kept both of them awake for a good chunk of last night.

"You heard, didn't you?" Fay's face fell as she tried to shrivel up on the couch, thoroughly embarrassed. Krystal was smirking, opening her mouth to speak when Mira's soft voice slipped out, silencing her.

"I think half the neighborhood heard you. Thank god Bill's mom isn't here." Fay shriveled up even more, her delicate face brilliant red, easily showing through her white fur, only concealed by her knees, which she had buried her face in after pulling them to her chest.

"Oh shut up. I bet you and will made a good bit of noise a couple times too." Mira froze, a single tear slipping out of her eye as she looked away.

"No. we never had sex." Fay let go of her knee's at that quiet statement, her flush fading as he soft sapphire eyes focused on the younger woman beside her. Krystal just watched on in silence, curious as to where this was going.

"You haven't? even with how close you two are?" she shook her head, Krystal unable to stop the sinking feeling in her chest as Mira started to cry.

"It just never came up. It isn't necessary for a relationship. Now it never will." Both Krystal and Fay fought back tears as they watched their friend cry, knowing there was nothing they could really do to comfort her. they had once insisted that they were going to find will, but with it having been over a month since he had disappeared, all of them doubted finding him as anything more than a corpse. Krystal sighed, finding the remote and changing the channel, trying to find something to watch other than the news, neither of the others even seeming to notice. After flicking through several channels, she gave up, setting it back to CNN with a huff. Her mind almost instantly started to wander, blocking out the sound of the TV. She couldn't help but wonder how Fox was doing, having heard nothing from him since the call about Fara, something else that had been worrying her. although she had only met her briefly, and not even spoken to her, she knew enough about her from Fox to know that he still cared about her. nothing like he used to, but they were good friends still. And knowing Fox, after Will's disappearance and Saber's death, he was more than likely going crazy right now.

"Hey Mira?" Fay's saddened voice broke the silence and Krystal's thoughts, her eyes glancing over at the white canine. Mira simply glanced at her, that being her only sign that she was listening. Fay bit her lip as she clearly debated what exactly to say, finally speaking when decided on the words. "Are you feeling up to going out today? There's a fair going on over in Bailey's park, thought it might be some fun to go to." Mira glanced at her and sighed, eyes locked on the floor.

"Yeah. sure, why not?" Fay instantly smiled, her happiness literally seeping out of her. even Mira couldn't help but smile at their friends response.

"Cool! We are going to have so much fun! I haven't been to a fair in years! Not since before I moved to Katina at any rate! But I swear, you'll love it Mira! Krys, you wanna come too?" Krystal smiled to her and nodded almost instantly.

"Of course. I could use a good excuse to stretch my legs. Being cooped up in this house is bugging me." Fay nearly vibrated herself off the couch she was so excited, a small smile creeping across Mira's face as she spoke.

"So when are we going? And I'm really sorry, we'll probably have to go really slowly. Still having some trouble." Fay just hugged her before speaking, earning a small half hearted one in return.

"Hour or two, unless you want to go later. It's running till sundown today and tomorrow." Fay let go of her, watching almost impatiently for a response.

"I'll go get changed now. been sitting in this house for too long now anyway." She was moving to place her half empty bowl on the end table, when Fay launched off the couch, snatching the bowl out of her hand, nearly sloshing it's contents out in her energized haste.

"I got this for you, just go change. Krys, you good to go?" Krystal nodded, simultaneously sending her a telepathic nod, given the canine wasn't facing her. Although she didn't spend much time around the telepath, Fay had still learned how to pick up on the subtle signals of her power. Not as well as Fox, Katt, or Will, who all had no trouble detecting fully formed thoughts almost from meeting her.

"Is bill coming?" the question hit Krystal's lips without her even having a chance to really think about it, the canine glancing over her shoulder as she dumped the bowl in the sink.

"No, I thought it should be just us girls. I haven't had good girl time in months. It was Bill's idea actually. It tears him up to see Mira like this. He wants her to be happy again." Krystal smiled, knowing exactly what Fay was talking about. Bill had been working his tail off trying to find any information on Will, every time he saw Mira reminding him of the fact that Will was gone. Krystal didn't even need her telepathy to see how much it was bothering him.

"Sounds good to me." She suddenly heard a crash up the stairs, followed by several curse words. Krystal was instantly off the couch, rushing to the foot of the stairs to find Bill near the top, straddling the last few steps. Mira had slipped on the stairs, landing on her hip and likely would have gone down the stairs if Bill hadn't caught her wrist.

"You okay Mira?" her eyes were closed as she slipped into a sitting position on the stairs, instantly clutching her hip as soon as Bill let go of her.

"Fuck, that hurts! God, I cant wait to be done with this damned shit!" Bill put a hand on her shoulder, a clearly worried expression on his face. Mira opened her eyes at the touch, quickly waving him off. "Yeah, I'm good, just twangs a bit." He nodded, slipping off the narrow stairs so she could stand.

"You sure you don't want some help up there?" Mira glanced at her before shaking her head, shakily standing up before slowly continuing up the stairs.

"I'm fine Krys. I got this." Krystal smiled at her, unable to help but admire her stubbornness. Even with everything that had happened, how depressed she was, she fought tooth and nail to not be a burden on anyone.

"Okay. See ya outside in a bit!" Mira waved to her as she got up the stairs, slipping out of sight. Bill slipped his way down the stairs as he spoke.

"You two going somewhere?" Before Krystal could think to respond to Bill, Fay was speaking from the living room, standing with her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.

"Three. I'm taking your advice." Bill smirked, flopping over the couch, nearly falling asleep the second he did so. The canine was as far from a morning person as possible, damn near living off coffee, a fact that Krystal had only learned recently.

"Cool. I'll be here. Sleeping." With that, he almost instantly fell back asleep, earning him a small giggle from fay.

"You're so adorable Bill!" Krystal rolled her eyes at Fay's words, Fay stepping over to Bill to give him a peck on the check, only to accidently wake him, earning a full on kiss for it. Krystal looked away, unable to stop the memories of waking up to a kiss from Fox from flooding her mind. Fay's voice broke the through Krystal's thoughts again, drawing her attention.

"So how'd that doctors appointment go? Wrist doing any better?" Krystal nodded, fingering the brace that was still on her wrist. She was told that she was healing remarkably fast, given every bone in her wrist had been shattered, as well as one of her bones of her fore arm having cracked. She had been through three different surgeries over the past few months to painstakingly put her wrist back together. Even so, she still would likely have to wear a brace for another few weeks, at least.

"It went well. Seems like the last surgery did the trick. Just gotta let time do the work now." Fay smiled as she stood, her mouth opening only for Mira's voice to cut her off.

"I see you never made the door. Come on, lets go!" she seemed at least a little more excited now, but it was very clear that she was forcing it.

"Okay Mira. Fay, shall we?" the canine led the way out the door, Krystal locking it behind the trio.

* * *

Wolf gritted his teeth as he sat on his bed, not noticing the tears streaming down his fur from his one good eye. It had been weeks since Fara's disappearance. Whether he cared to admit it or not, he hadn't been able to sleep since she had disappeared. Fox had been working almost day and night to try to find both her and Will, almost never being at the headquarters. Everyone seemed on edge because of the situation, regardless of race. Ramirez's team had gone out on several more missions, losing three more people during them, while Wolf had barely even left his room. Most of the Star Fox and Star Wolf members were trying to help Fox, but none of them were getting anywhere, or working anywhere near as hard as he was. A groan slipped out of Wolf's muzzle as he fell back on his bed, having no desire whatso ever to answer the growling in his stomach. He hadn't eaten yet that day, the day already drawing close to it's end. There was a knock on the door that he ignored. A minute or so later, there was another knock, which he again ignored. Finally, on the third knock, he angrily shot to his feet, storming up to the door and ramming his fist on the open switch. The girl, Miyu, was standing on the other side, every line in her body screaming anger.

"Wolf, why the fuck have you been sitting on your ass while the res…" her voice seemed to freeze as she looked him, her nose wrinkling for a second. It had been days since Wolf had even attempted to shower. "Have you been crying?" the quietly spoken question was backed up by an expression of both concern and confusion.

"Leave me the fuck alone! And before you say I aint doing shit, who the fuck do you think is letting yall stay here! Not even Star Wolf knew about this place before we needed it for this op!" he went to slap the door switch, the touch pad flashing red as Miyu stuck her foot in the way of the door.

"Whoa no, you aint getting off that easy! It's been weeks Wolf! We all know Fara meant a helluva lot to you, but you need to get your ass out of this room. Right. Fucking. Now. Do I make myself clear?" she advanced into the room, her angry voice being enough to get him to retreat deeper into the room.

"I said to leave me the fuck alone!" she chuckled, grabbing one of his ears before he could react and dragging him by it. no matter how much he wanted to struggle, every attempt at breaking away sent a shooting pain through his head, forcing him to follow her. they reached the common area and she finally let go, turning back on him in an instant.

"Listen, me and you are the only one's here right now! everyone else is running an op that may lead to Fara and Will's location! Now I cooked a meal, and I really don't want to eat it by myself, so sit down, quit whining like an overgrown pup, and eat!" he groaned, but didn't try to fight her, sitting in one of the seats. There was already steaming bowls of stew in front of them, the aroma overpowering his own stench, his stomach completely rebelling against him at the delicious smell. His eye's glanced up to her, across the table from him. She was propping her head up with one hand, lazily stirring the bowl of stew. Her electric blue eyes occasionally glanced up to him from time to time before she finally spoke, dropping both of her hands to the table. "Well, at least try it, would you?" he groaned, grabbing his own spoon and taking a small sip of the thick broth, instantly loving the salty, meaty flavor. Before he could stop himself, he was devouring the bowl, and looking dreamily at hers. "There's more on the stove, stupid." He grimaced at her words, instantly standing and dishing himself another portion, half debating taking the whole pot with him. "I'm just glad your eating, finally. We are all worried about you Wolf." He just grunted as he sat back down.

"Don't be. I aint worth the effort." She glared at him again as he dug into the second bowl, eating at a considerably more polite pace.

"clearly, Fara disagrees." He glared at her again, which she was already returning.

"don't." he snarled that one word out before returning to his food.

"Don't what? Mention Fara? She's still alive Wolf. The way you are acting right now, it's… horrendous. She would be livid with you!"

"don't you dare tell me what she would want! I know the way Oikonny is, he's just like his fucking uncle was! If she isn't dead by now, killing her would be a mercy! He doesn't just take prisoners Miyu! He tortures them, experiments on them, twists their minds! Dying while in his possession is a fucking gift!" he dropped his spoon before shouting at her, slamming his fist on the table at the same time. The force of his strike flipped his own bowl over, spilling soup across the table.

"So that makes it all the more important to get them back! If dying is a gift, then rescue is a miracle!" he stomped away from the table, headed for the hall. He felt her hand grab his arm, ripping his arm out of her hand without even looking at her. "Wolf, listen to me!" Wolf heard a ringing come from the command center, instantly diverting his steps there. As soon as he was inside, the holo panel was demanding he accept the call, instantly doing so.

"Wolf, damn, didn't expect you to answer!" a half size holo of Fox was floating over the table, holding Wolf's attention. "We got news. We think we found a ship carrying Fara! Maybe even Will! I've got the Wolfhound on course, but she aint far from Mecbeth, you might actually get there before us in your fighter. Ramirez's team is cleaning up here. Meet us there?" he instantly nodded, closing the com line before ramming past Miyu, who had been standing in the door.

"Hey, got another fighter?" he shook his head as he strapped his blaster on, already headed for the back of the building.

"No I don't."

"What about Fara's? I know how to fly. I was a bounty hunter after all." He froze for a second, shaking his head.

"Fine, but if there is a single scratch on that fighter, I will rip your goddamned head off!" he turned back around almost to fast to notice the smirk flash across her face.

"Noted. Now lets go!"

* * *

I groaned as I instinctively clutched my head. I was lying on a soft bed, too soft to be my own. I fought to remember where I was, my eyes opening to the dark chamber. I slipped off the bed, noticing the medical equipment as it glowed slightly, casting an eerie blue glow around the room that my eyes took minutes to adjust too. I shambled over to the one mechanical door and slapped the light switch, being blinded by the light flickering on. I shielded my eyes, seeing the simple metal plating of the room, the single bed against the far wall being the only real break in the empty room. There was a desk, built into the wall with a chair snuggly sitting under it. on the desk, was a clean set of grey fatigues, a plate carrier with a belt and holster leaning on the wall next to it. I glanced down at my grey underclothes and shrugged, slipping into the comfortable uniform, noticing the unfamiliar red patch. It was a red vertical flag, with a dark ape head silhouette on it, a pair of rapier like swords crossed over it. I shrugged, not really caring about the patch as I dropped the vest on and clipped the belt on, checking to be sure the weapon was loaded before stepping back to the door and slipping through. I was instantly greeted by an ape in a formal uniform, my hand dropping to my weapon the second he spoke.

"Ah, Ghost! You're awake! The emperor would like to see you on the bridge." He smiled as he spoke, the older ape showing grey hairs in his fur, but aside from that, you might have mistaken him for a much younger individual.

"Who the fuck are you!?" I fought the urge to whip the blaster out and aim it at him, noticing a guard at the hallway a dozen or so meters down the corridor. My half shouted sentence had caused the guards attention to shift toward me. The ape, on the other hand, had a sad expression slip onto his face, speaking quietly.

"You don't remember me, do you?" I shook my head and he sighed. "Well, it's not the first time since the incident that you memory has slipped. What's the last thing you remember, and I can bring you up to date." I racked my brain, slowly relaxing. Memories flooded in of the war, my friends, Miyu, fighting on Mecbeth, and lastly, Mira dying. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think of her face.

"Mira…" tears threatened to slip down my face as I uttered the one word, the ape's pity filled expression deepening at the one uttered word.

"Oh… yes, she is dead. Murdered in fact, by someone you used to think was a friend. Fox McCloud." Most of his statement was filled with sincerity, until the last two words, which he uttered in total disgust.

"But… Fox….. he would never…" he cut me off, almost harshly.

"Murder a team mate? Well, it shocked the hell out of you when you learned how he really was. Let me get you up to speed. Walk with me?" I nodded as he gestured down the hallway, passing the guard I had noticed, only for the guard to start following. The ape seemed to notice my cautious gaze and chuckled. "I'm an Admiral, so I naturally have a bodyguard or two at all times. Don't mind him. I guess I'll start with my name. I am Admiral Wilson Harrison. Nine months ago, Mira Marshal was murdered by Fox McCloud and his cohorts, Fara Phoenix and Wolf O'Donnel. You continued to work with them until I showed you the footage of them making the deal with Midnight to have her killed. You attempted to confront them in your Arwing, only to be shot down. It was seven on one. You never really had a chance." He led me into a lift as he spoke, pressing a button marked as command deck. "when your craft crashed, you were injured, and left in a coma for four months. Ever since, your memory comes and goes. You took on the name 'Ghost' too. You never told me your reasons why." I nodded, unable to think of anything after Mira's death that could combat what he said. I couldn't think of anything at all that happened after her death.

"Do you still have this video you mentioned? I don't trust you." He smiled, opening up a holographic interface off his wrist computer.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't expect you to believe what I told you with out some evidence. I do have to warn you, the last time you saw this video, you went a little…. Crazy." I nodded and took a deep breath. He pulled up the file, a flat screen appearing a half second later. I instantly recognized the three people in the image, even if it was grainy. I couldn't hear what was being said amongst Fara, Fox, and wolf, but there was a case sitting by Fox's leg in the alley they were standing in. a dark figure that made my blood boil appeared on the left of the screen, gaining the attention of the three. They interacted for a few seconds, the security camera having no audio, before Fox handed the case to Midnight. He accepted it, the angle of the camera allowing me to clearly see the bills inside as he checked it. I reached over and closed the file, having seen enough. Tears freely slipped down my face as he spoke again. "Do you need some time, Ghost? The emperor will understand." I shook my head, wiping the tears away and hardening my expression.

"No. the sooner I kill those bastards, the sooner I can move on." The ape smiled and patted my shoulder as the lift's door opened, gesturing me out.

"Now that's the spirit! This way!" We stepped straight left, the elevator bay being much larger than the ships corridors had been, with a massive door along one side that we stepped up to. The door opened to reveal the most extravagant bridge I had ever seen, the captains chair almost seeming like a throne, raised a story above the bridge consoles, most of which, I couldn't see past the long shallow steps up to the chair. The viewports were massive, angling toward the aft of the ship and at least three stories tall, giving me a clear view of space, even from where I was standing. The chair spun on the spot to reveal another ape, in a similar, but more extravagant uniform to the admiral, with out the hat. His fur had long since turned white, his brown eyes seeming to glow with a faint inner light, clashing with his scarred and wrinkled skin.

"Ghost! What a pleasure to see you again! I have a gift for you!" he stood as he smiled, arms open wide in a position of acceptance. I froze for a second, part of me wanting to shoot him right there. _Stop, whatever he did in the past, I don't care. **He** didn't kill Mira._

"Like wise. What's this gift you mention?" I stepped halfway up the stairs to him, stopping and politely kneeling as I spoke.

"Get up! You are too close a friend to bother with those frivolous actions! And I have captured one of the culprits behind Mira's death! Lieutenant!? Bring her in!" an Armored guard by one of the doors instantly saluted by slamming his fist against his chest before flattening his arm straight out, at a forty-five degree angle from the flooring. He opened the door beside him, signaling someone on the other side. A group of four guards marched in to the room, Fara's battered form limping along the center of the group. My fists clenched at the sight of her, fury coursing through my veins. "I thought you might like to kill her yourself, considering what she has done." I grinned, unholstering the blaster as she seemed to notice me, hope flashing across her face.

"With pleasure." That glimpse of hope disappeared when I spoke, still advancing on the group until I was only feet from her.

"Wh-what are you doing!?" her voice was weak, filled with terror as I raised the weapon, aiming at her chest. My lack of response seemed to spur her to say more. "Will! It's me, Fara! Don't you remember me?" I froze for a second, the weapon dipping down slightly as she said my name. _why am I hesitating? This woman is responsible for Mira's death_. My mind seemed to instantly become a battle ground. _She killed Mira! Maybe not directly, but she is still responsible! No, she's your friend, you cant shoot her! SHE KILLED MIRA! SHOOT HER! NOW!_

"Well, what are you waiting for Ghost? I thought you wanted to kill this woman?" his voice broke my thoughts for a second, causing me scan over her broken body. She was on her knees, one of her ankles bent at an odd angle. She had multiple cuts through her outfit, some dried, some fresh and still bleeding. One of her eyes was swollen shut, the swelling going as far as shifting her ear on that side to a strange position.

"Just gimme a second. I want to savor this." _Or do i? she's my friend, shouldn't I give her the benefit of the doubt…. No, just shoot her now!_ I obeyed my own mind aiming at her chest and firing three shots into her. she shrieked as she was slammed back, her voice cut off as the plasma ripped clean through her chest. Her eyes were watered in agony, staring up at me as I stepped over her. _Wh-what did I just do_? "F-Fara? I-I'm so sorry! I- I" my voice dropped off as her expression seemed to change to one of acceptance, touching my leg just before her arm slumped to the floor, all life leaving her emerald eyes. Rage boiled into my veins as I turned around, not even knowing what Andross said to me. _He made me kill her. he is a liar, he's responsible for Mira's death! All of this, it's just a hoax!_ I started to raise the blaster to shoot him when a blast of white flashed in my peripheral vision, just a split second before a searing pain turned my vision black.


	13. Hope Rekindled

Wolf gritted his teeth, his throttle maxed out on his Wolfen, every bit of power his power plant was capable of producing being funneled to the engines. He glanced over at Fara's ship, seeing Katt up in the cockpit bringing a tear to his eye. He shook it away with a growl, glaring at the crosshair in his HUD. _Cant lose my focus now. We gotta save her!_ Wolf barely even noticed anything now, beyond the green marker on his HUD system that was slowly ticking closer and closer to zero, still reading as a couple dozen kilometers. It was their predicted intercept point with the ship Fox had mentioned. All they had to do was hold it in place for five minutes for Fox's team to catch up.

"Wolf, my LADAR just picked up a ship, Verham class cruis- wait, not a verham class, way to big! Gotta be around two clicks long, similar design to the Verham cruiser! We should be engaging in under five minutes. It's deploying fighters so I would guess that it's aware of us." Wolf nodded, his own linked sensors displaying the ship now. he gritted his teeth, knowing this next fight was likely going to be one of the hardest in his life. The distance continued to count further down, one of the fighter squadrons suddenly branching off to engage them. At six clicks, the enemy fighters had closed to the near standard combat range of two clicks, when missiles began to be capable of acquiring locks off the fighters computer system. Any further and the weapons start to lose accuracy. At a click and a half, still a little far out for effective plasma shots, he started firing his twin cannons, unlinked for a higher rate of fire, and spraying the shots in a sheet across their formation. The unshielded strike fighters ducked and weaved, trying to avoid plasma blasts, a third of them being unable to. Three of those fighters had been pulverized by precise bursts of fire from Miyu's fighter. Before anything more could happen, the two formations shot past each other, Wolf killing his thrust and pitching. His more maneuverable fighter easily slipped onto the tail of an enemy craft, a single linked blast turning it into scrap. His fighter rocked as a pair of shots hit his fighter, instantly ruddering, rolling, and finally, pitching to bring his fighter facing the enemy craft, the two so close together that neither could miss the shots they fired. Problem was, only Wolf's fighter was shielded, causing the strike fighter to burst apart, Wolf's fighter merely shaken. He ignored the fact that his shield had taken a beating, only at a third of the power it should have, diving after a wing pair angling in on Miyu. Neither had a chance to respond as he fired an unlinked salvo into them, watching as both erupted into pieces. Meanwhile, Miyu used the cannons on the Phoenix to finish off the last one of the squadron, neither of them speaking as they both angled back on course for their intercept, the enemy ship looming before them. Wolf diverted some power to his shielding, watching as the integrity slowly climbed back up. At four kilometers, the cruiser began firing sheets of plasma into space, the volume of fire preventing it's fighters from engaging the two approaching fighters, but at the same time, both fighters were ducking and weaving through the blasts too much to even think of engaging the cruiser. _Come on Fox! I cant keep this shit up all day!_ A pair of silvery blue lances lit up the stern of the enemy vessel, the bubble like shield flaring from the powerful blast. Just a few kilometers away was the form of the Wolfhound. Although greatly smaller than the great Fox, the vessel had been designed to kill the dreadnaught, it's twin main cannons having equal power to the Great Fox's main guns, before they had been modified to fire tungsten rounds. He smirked, ready to own the capital ship, only to watch in horror as it's engines brightened for a second, disappearing a second later.

"Were detecting debris in the ship's trail. It's not very big. Recommend someone check it out." Wolf recognized Reilly's voice, a green marker appearing on his HUD. The enemy fighters seemed to have vanished into thin air, as if they had never existed in the first place. He slowed his fighter down as he neared the debris, a few commands turning on his landing lights to illuminate it. his jaw dropped in horror as he recognized Fara's corpse, now drifting lazily through space.

"Hey Reilly, get a lock on their course before they jumped?" he barely noticed Fox's voice as he stared at the corpse, his mind frozen on what he was seeing.

"Yeah, if I got this right, he's heading for the Sol system. No way we can follow him there." Wolf finally found his voice, keying up his com system.

"It's Fara….. she's…. she's gone….." Wolf sobbed, unable to hold back tears anymore as several more fighters drifted over to his own, shocked cries echoing in the radio.

* * *

Mira smiled as she watched Fay and Krystal bickering back and forth beside her, rolling her eyes from time to time about their conversation, the topic in particular being the attire of some of the individuals passing them, from the skimpy to the conservative and everything in between, arguing quite heavily about which fashions were better. Krystal, having grown up on a world where clothing was almost tribal, seemed to be going for the skimpy outfits, fay being almost disgusted by it. Mira on the other hand, really couldn't care less. She was simply happy to be out of the house, with her friends. She tried to not think about the events happening in the rest of the system, but no matter how hard she tried, even the actions of the people around her seemed to be wanting to make her think about the war and ultimately, Will. Everyone around her seemed nervous, some even looking down right scared, moving everywhere with groups, and constantly watching over their shoulders. There was a sort of tension in the air that was undeniable. The only ones seeming unaffected were the children, who seemed the only ones entirely enjoying themselves. She quickly found herself simply watching the kids, unable to stop herself from smiling at their seemingly limitless excitement and life. She was suddenly ripped back to her friends as Fay's elbow slammed into her side, sending an excruciating amount of pain through her ribs.

"Ow, What the…." She stopped herself, realizing that swearing around children was generally not polite."… heck?" Fay looked sheepishly at her, trying to smile winningly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. What do you think?" Mira raised an eyebrow at her, Fay signing almost undetectably. "About trying one of the rides?" she shrugged, glancing around the fair again to see what there was. It was a pretty standard fair with a wild assortment of rides including a few human touches, such as a giant Ferris wheel and a small carrousel.

"Maybe the ferris wheel? Seems like it would hurt the least." Fay leapt to her feet, grinning. No matter how glum the mood was, no matter how sad Mira sounded, even to herself, Fay seemed to always be a bundle of energy. Which was more than amusing with her generally shy personality. Mira groaned as she stood from the bench, every muscle in her body feeling like it was made of lead, every motion like it took shattering a concrete casing just to move her muscles. It was almost agonizing, especially when she was used to being able to move freely and easily. The trio made their way through the thinly crowded fair, Krystal and Fay flanking Mira in case her legs gave out and to act as a buffer between her and the crowd. They arrived there without much issue, both of them chattering back and forth like nothing was wrong. but Mira noticed the small worried glances they kept shooting her way. She remained silent as they boarded one of the small cabins mounted on the wheel, Mira just watching out the window as the wheel rotated, lifting them into the air. She could hear the voice of a terrified child below her and she smirked, having lost most of her fear of heights in her time as a fighter pilot. The city around her looked spectacular from the air, the artificial island that made up Corneria city being a giant star. The central district was a pentagram in the middle of the star, and was filled with less than a few decade old skyscrapers. The five triangular points of the stars were generally more residential, buildings barely reaching more than a few stories high, with the exception of the north and south east districts. The north was almost all industrial, filled with factories, most being retrofitted into weapons factories. The south east district was where the space port and ship yards were located. The Star Fox head quarters was on the edge of this district, were there were a large number of hotels and tourist attractions. The head quarters was actually the upper floors of a hotel, looking out over the ocean. To the south was a natural mid ocean ridge that formed a trio of long islands, where the military facilities were. It was just barely visible from where she was now, in the south west district. The sun was high in the sky, glinting off the extremely modern architecture, much of it honestly reminding her of the starships Corneria used, with their very angular shapes.

"You've been really quiet today Mira. Something bothering you?" Krystal's voice was soft and sweet, Mira glancing at her before sighing.

"Thinking about him. I miss him." She tried to stop the tear that slipped out, but to no avail. She felt Krystal's hand on her arm, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Well, we're always here if you need to talk. You know that." Mira nodded, opening her mouth to speak only to be cut off by her wrist ringing. She glanced down at the device, tapping the answer key and tenitively greeting whoever was calling. She was shocked when Vince's voice spilled out.

"Mira, big news! They have a lead on Will!" Krystal and Fay both just gasped, Mira staring at the screen in a totally dumbfounded expression.

"Wh-What!? Where!?" Vince sighed on the other end, seconds passing before he responded.

"Well, I got a call from Earth, of all places. an Admiral Hawkins? Anyway, he said that they had reason to believe that an enemy vessel that is presumed to have Will aboard is inbound for the Sol system right now. Aaannd he wants some….. 'Lylatian Advisors' to help catch that ship. We have a way to get at least me and you to the Sol system." Mira was instantly responding, Krystal giving her a slightly worried glance.

"When are we leaving, and how are we getting there?"

"Tomorrow. And I can only get ahold of a two seater so….." Krystal smiled warmly toward Mira's questioning gaze.

"Don't worry about me. I'll help you pack. You go save your man." Mira nodded, Vince speaking up.

"Well, come spend the night at my apartment, I can give you more information there Know where it is?"

"Yeah, I do. See you in a couple hours." Mira closed the call, felling like a fire had just been lit in her chest. Whatever it takes, I'm not giving up on him!

* * *

Admiral Hawkins glanced up at the door to his office as someone knocked, glaring at it before he flicked the tactical holograms floating over it away, stashing a few of the more sensitive documents away before sweeping the room with his eyes, looking for anything else. The room was covered in reports and intel, and entire wall devoted to a massive cork board, covered in photo's and intel packets he had acquired, almost all about the conspiracy he had discovered because of Star Wolf. He groaned knowing there was no way to hide that.

"Admiral, it's Shakeela." He breathed a sigh of relief, smiling.

"Come in! door's unlocked!" the door slid open to reveal the UEC ambassador, her long black hair and piercing green eyes still looking absolutely stunning, even as she started to enter her later years. She glanced at the cork board and the literal mess of paperwork and smiled.

"Wow, I hadn't realized how much you actually had." He shrugged, leaning back in his chair as she fingered one of the many yarn strings he had tacked to the board, following it between an image of Oikonny and MacDonnell. She froze as she noticed a section of the board had been removed, a highschool image of Will and his friends, including her daughter, arrayed around a table as they played a card game. It was it's own small web, all of the files pertaining to finding Will. The most recent piece being a report from captain Ramirez about the up sized Verham cruiser they had been unable to capture, as well as it's projected course.

"Sadly, it's not definitive. I wish it was enough to end this war, but, although I can connect the M-A and the A-R together, and I have proof of the attack on Corneria, I cant connect the two attacks to the insurgencies." She nodded, her finger tapping the image Will was in, her well-trimmed nail touching her daughter.

"I heard that Will may be being brought to the Sol system. I really hope you manage to find him." He nodded, having just received a return message from his Corneria contact that Mira was going to be coming as well.

"Me too. Mira Marshall is being gated to the system tomorrow….." She stiffened for a second at that, just before striding over to one of the chairs at his desk, smiling calmly the whole way.

"That's wonderful. I'm curious what kind of woman it took to sweep him back off his feet after, well, you know." Hawkins nodded, staring at his desk for a second.

"You know she was there when Naseeba….." she instantly nodded, still smiling.

"I know. I also know that she did all she could to save her. it's good to know that she didn't die alone." Hawkins nodded, unable to look her in the eye. The woman's insane calmness always unnerved him, but now, it seemed infinitely worse.

"How are you so calm about all of this?" she gently rested a hand over his, squeezing it gently.

"Because I know I cant change it. what's done is done, and she could've died the same way here on earth as she did there. No point in letting it drag me down, especially when there are still others to save. You taught me that." Hawkins felt her hand leave his before she was standing, his eyes finally meeting hers again as a single tear drifted down her cheek. "And because I can never let them see they got me. I'd be eaten alive in politics if I showed weakness." Hawkins nodded, watching as she slipped back out the door, closing it behind her.

* * *

I groaned as I sat up, the soft bed around me seeming both familiar and foreign at the same time. I quickly became aware that I wasn't alone in the room, a pair of fully armored guards, Apes if I had to guess, were flanking the one door. My hand was cuffed to the bed and there was an ape sleeping in a chair in the corner of the room. One of the guards cleared his throat when he noticed I was awake, the Ape bolting upright and grinning.

"Ghost! You're awake! Thank god! You have been out for nearly a day. Do you need anything, are you thirsty?" I shook my head, unable to fully clear it.

"No, I'm fine, what the hell happened? Why am I cuffed to a bed and well, who are you?" he sighed, still smiling warmly.

"So your memories did slip again. You lost control. Attacked the emperor. One of the guards had to stun you….." memories suddenly flooded my mind, remembering this man, shooting Fara, attempting to shoot the emperor. I groaned as I fell back on my bed, feeling like I had screwed up. _Why did I shoot at him? He's trying to help me get revenge? He cant be anywhere near as bad as they said, with that being true._

"I'm sorry. It's starting to come back to me. God, I feel like an asshole. I shouldn't have done that." The ape seemed to detect the sincerity in my voice, smiling broader as he stepped over to the bed and removing the cuffs.

"It's alright. It's a side effect of the amnesia. We are trying a new medication on you. We hope it will help. Shouldn't affect your abilities or concentration." I nodded, smiling to the man.


	14. Arrival

Mira slowly became aware of her surroundings, trying to think through the fog permeating her brain as she sat up in the bed she was in, every muscle in her body protesting. The room around her was dark, but it wasn't her room in the headquarters, or the one she had been sharing in bill's house either. she was confused until her eyes hit the small pile by the door, a pair of hard shell crates and her small duffel bag that reminded her of the call she had received the day before, and where she had spent the night. She groaned as she slipped out of the bed, grabbing her cargo pants and tank top from where she had left them on a dresser in Vince's room, her muscles quaking as she dressed. Getting her black combat boots on was way more troublesome then it should have been, her inability to really be precise with her movements and the constant stabs of pain at each movement helping very little with the action. She sighed when she finished, just remaining seated on the edge of the bed for several minutes before her grumbling stomach convinced her to stand. A short shuffle later and she was in the main room of Vince's apartment. She had only been there a few times, the small space being split between a living room and kitchen, the bedroom door being beside the breakfast bar separating the two rooms. The living room was dominated by a large corner desk covered in monitors and linked sections of computer, all of the screens lit. Mira couldn't help but smirk at the white vulpine sleeping away in the desk chair, illuminated by the light of the screen savers being displayed across the screens, a rolling set of images for the blue prints of the old X-01 Arwings that had made Star Fox famous.

"Vince, got any breakfast here?" he startled at her quiet voice, or simply the lights of the room being flicked on.

"Oh! Jeez you scared me. Should still be some doughnuts on the counter. What time is it?" Vince grabbed his glasses off the desk as he spoke, sliding them on as his eyes focused on her. She barely glanced at her wrist computer before stepping around the counter and into the unlit kitchen space.

"six fifty one. Used to getting up early I guess, sorry." She didn't even look toward him as she spoke, popping the lid open on the doughnut box and sampling a jelly filled one before leaving the kitchen.

"oh….. good, didn't over sleep. We need to be at the space port by… hmm. How long do you think it would take to get to the moon?" Mira glanced up at his question, one eyebrow raised.

"Well, what kind of ship did you get us?" he grimaced as he stood and stretched, his usual white lab coat now wrinkled and with a coffee stain on it.

"An S-D 12 defense fighter? Took some string pulling with Commander Winters to get it." Mira dropped onto the couch in the living room, racking her brain for a minute to try and remember what ship that was.

"Isnt that a twin seater bomber stellar dynamics tried to put out? Those things are slow as slugs." Vince nodded as he shambled into the kitchen, Mira losing sight of him for a few seconds. She heard the coffee maker startup, a faint hum filling the room as it heated water.

"Yeah. it's only got an anti-fighter flak gun. Stellar Dynamics thought a projectile weapon might give it an edge in a dogfight. I figured we could use the weapons bay as a storage compartment for our stuff." Mira nodded to herself, not responding to Vince. The coffee maker gurgled for a second before dripping fluids could be heard, the delicious smell of coffee filling the space. "I think we should be at the port in a couple hours or so. Hopefully, we'll make the rendezvous in in time. You got everything you need?"

"Yeah. it's over in your room." she heard the coffee maker stop and shut down a few minutes later, followed by Vince shuffling back into the room with a steaming coffee mug in hand.

"What all did you bring?" he took a sip of his coffee after he spoke, wincing slightly. She shrugged, taking the last few bites of her doughnut before responding.

"Will's blaster and rifle, his cleaning case, a small vest for power packs and a couple of spare outfits. Not much really." Vince nodded after she finished speaking, leaving the room to be silent as he sipped on his coffee. He finished it before going to his room. Mira hearing the shower turning on. When he returned, several minutes later, he was wearing some combat cargo pants and a black stellar dynamics t-shirt that clung tightly to his un-built frame. It was almost comical in a way, seeing the aging Vulpine trying to look more like a mercenary then the scientist he was. He had a small blaster carbine slung over his shoulder, a belt with a few equipment pouches on it, including a medical scanner. Mira's duffel bag was clutched in one of his hands, the longer rifle case in the other.

"Go get your other case, I got these. My stuff is already packed onto the fighter." She nodded and stood, quickly grabbing the case from his room and following him out of the apartment. It didn't take them long to reach his small car, both of them remaining silent for the duration of the ride to the space port. He parked in one of the many parking lots, leading the way into a private section of the port with only a handful of soldiers guarding it. the main port was locked down for the most part, the only air traffic being planetary traffic these days. He flashed his ID to one of the soldiers at the entrance, who scanned it and let them pass. After a few minutes of maneuvering through the empty port and short train ride, he lead the way into a small hanger bay, which held a single craft. It looked much like an Arwing, if you had removed the wings and G-diffusers, replacing them with two blocky boxes and expanding the fuselage. There was a single cannon mount on the underside of the craft's nose, flanked by a pair of landing struts. Two more were at the rear of the craft, on the beginnings of the wings. It was clear just looking at the craft that the wings were meant to house anti-ship ordinance, a bay behind the forward cannon and in front of the cockpit being where bombs for anti-ground duties were kept. That bay was open, with a small ladder propped up under it. She followed vince under the grey craft, watching as he climbed the ladder with her duffel and rifle case. The bay had been modified to have plating forming a shelf, blocking any thought of using the bay for it's intended purpose, but making it able to carry cargo. It didn't take long for Vince to strap the bag and cases in, being half on the ladder and half in the bay. As soon as he was finished, he climbed out and removed the ladder, clumsily folding it out to form a longer ladder before leaning it onto the hull of the craft. "Well, up you go!" she nodded and slipped up the ladder, slipping into the rearward seat, which was the pilots seat, that evident by the flight controls with in. it was raised higher than the front seat, letting the pilot see over the other seat and giving them a better view to the rear. Vince kicked the ladder off the hull after he climbed up, dropping into the forward seat as she strapped in.

"So, why are we heading to the moon?" he didn't even glance at her as she spoke, clearly struggling with the harness as she started to fire the craft up. It used a similar holographic interface as an X-03 arwing, something that made Mira frown. She hated holographic interfaces, having rarely used them because of it. There was a small headset resting on the dash that she grabbed and slipped on as the system booted up.

"Earth is going to open a gate near a scrap yard for exactly twenty seconds, which we will pass through. Are you really up to flying this thing?" She glared at him, knowing he wouldn't see the action as he placed his own headset on.

"Yes. I may not have flown in almost five months, but it isn't something you just forget." She 'pressed' the holo button to close the canopy as the craft's engine fired up, leaving a hum in their ears as she flicked through the systems, ensuring everything was online. She stopped as she flicked past the weapons screen, a red flashing number making her groan. "Is there a reason why we only have seventy-five cannon rounds?" Vince almost instantly responded.

"I told you it took some string pulling. I couldn't get us any more rounds, sorry." She sighed, the read out beside the blinking red number letting her know that she could carry almost a thousand rounds for the cannon.

"Alright Vince, you got Comms down there, get us out of here." He barely acknowledged, followed by a few minutes of him talking to the controller. After a short conversation, they were airborne, Mira's aching muscles almost forgotten as they raced out of the atmosphere.

* * *

Miyu stared down at the rough gravestone before her, four others beside it marking the human fighters that had died already. Although, those four 'graves' were nothing but markers, the bodies being returned to a human ship to go back to the Sol System. The grave before her on the other hand, contained Fara's body. She wasn't sure why she was still here, the impromptu funeral for her having been several hours before, and having only joined the group a month or so ago, Miyu barely even knew Fara. Then again, she had spent a lot of her time there with Will, and he spent a good bit of his time with Wolf. Through Will, she got to know Wolf, so maybe that was why she was still here. The lupine in question was a short distance away, sitting on a small boulder overlooking the town they were operating from. The graves had been put up on a ridge overlooking the town, not far from the base they were using. She sighed as she took one last look at the grave before moving off toward Wolf. He hadn't moved in several hours, anyone being able to tell that he was hurting the worst of the team.

"Hey, how you holding up?" Miyu spoke as soon as she was close enough, plopping down beside him on the rock. Now sitting next to him, she hadn't realized how much bigger he was then most of the team. He probably swamped all of them as far as size went.

"Fuck off." Miyu rolled her eyes, a faint chuckle slipping out.

"You really need to learn to open up a tad. It's alright to be hurting. Aint nothing wrong with it." he growled at her, his one good eye glaring at her.

"And I just want to be left the fuck alone, so get your tail out of here before I kick it out of here!" She rolled her eyes at his threat, the action causing another growl from him.

"Alright, before you try to bite my head off, I'll have to let you in on the fact that I probably don't taste to good. I have lived on the streets for the past four years after all." Wolf just continued to glare at her, a small sigh slipping out of miyu, her shoulders dropping in an almost defeated fashion. "Wolf, do you know why I stopped being a bounty hunter? Or hell, why I started?" his growl dropped off, looking downright confused. He shook his head, prompting Miyu to continue. "My parents were killed when I was ten. I lived in an orphanage until I was sixteen, stupidly picking up bounty hunting for a local drug gang. Over the next two years, I learned I was really good at it. even got my own jump capable fighter for a while. I had even started taking kill contracts too. One of those, I ended up killing a pair of middle-class canines here on Mecbeth. The target was actually a miner's wife, that miner having cut a deal with a gang to get money for his dying wife. I killed both of them, cause he wouldn't pay up. Then I learned that they had a son, Maxi." She stopped as her eyes closed for a few seconds, trying to fight back tears. His death still weighed on her, even more given what she had done. "I decided to…..to take care of Maxi from there on. He had been at school at the time, I went and picked him up when he was released. The cops had already found the bodies by then, and I barely got to him before they did. I told him that his parents had been killed and I was going to take care of him now. He believed me and well, you know the rest." Wolf was silent for several minutes, Miyu looking away from him.

"Didn't you tell will his parents died in a CDF raid?" she nodded, a single tear slipping out. "I see." He was much quieter now than he had been earlier, a deep sadness filling his voice rather than anger. "Miyu…. I'm sure you know what I used to do." She nodded, finally looking at him again. He was staring off into the distance again, a small dark line traced in his fur marking a tear trail. "I was nearly killed, three years ago. I had lead Star Wolf to help Fox take out the Aparoid queen, more just to ensure I could still get pay checks than anything else. I may not have wanted to bring down Star Fox anymore, but I wasn't exactly good either. That's when I met Fara. After my fighter was wrecked, she came in and pulled me out. She was just a CDF pilot then, hell she had only been there because of how stretched thin Corneria's forces were. She managed to conceal my identity, getting me medical help on a frigate. We stayed in touch after I had recovered. She's the reason I tried to change. She always tried to help those around her, even if she was occasionally a stuck up bitch about it, she still tried. She got me to see that my talents, and Star Wolf's, could be used to protect people, and that they should be. Most of my crew ended up leaving because of her, actually."

"I'm sorry Wolf…. She… seems like she meant a lot to you." He nodded at her words, the two of them remaining quiet for a while. Suddenly, his wrist computer started ringing, Wolf near instantly answering it.

"Hey Wolf, we got a message from our friends in the badlands. They say they have some people who want to meet us." Wolf frowned, looking slightly confused.

"Who?"

"Don't know. Just said that they are friends with a senator Reeves." That name seemed to mean something to him, as his confusion fell away.

"Roger, on our way." He closed the call before Fox could respond, both of them standing as they started to make their way down the hill, Miyu barely catching Wolf's quiet whisper as he looked back at the graves. "Goodbye Fara."

* * *

Vince closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. He had always hated flying, the cockpit of a space fighter being absolutely no comfort to him. He was death gripping the sides of the cockpit for dear life.

"Alright Vince, we are almost there. You know it wont kill you to let go of the control board, right?" Mira's voice startled him, able to plainly hear the amusement in her words.

"I…. uh yeah. here." He quickly punched a few commands into his console, copying a count down timer from his wrist computer into the fighters system. "When that hits zero, a gate should open up for us. alright?" he didn't hear her respond, about to continue speaking when a voice echoed into his ear, from the headset he was wearing.

"This is Captain Mason of the fifty second air defense squadron. Vincent D. Stazac you are under arrest for high treason. Power down your craft and await boarding." His eyes went wide, equally shocked and scared.

"Uh….. we got a problem." His throat had gone dry, the sensor screen before him showing twelve blips appearing behind them, well out of weapons range and closing fast.

"What? Don't tell me you broke something from squeezing it too hard." He shook his head, unable to even think of laughing at her crude joke.

"Uh…. No. I'm, ah, wanted for treason? Aaannnd we have a squadron of Bottlenose fighters coming up on us to arrest me." He heard her curse behind him.

"Alright, stay calm, we got time right? We get to the co-ordinates, and get through the gate when it opens." He grimaced, watching as the distance between them and the air defense squadron continued to get smaller and smaller.

"Right. We don't have time for that. They're at five clicks and closing fast." He heard Mira groan before the craft lurched, pressing him back into his seat.

"Then get ready for evasive maneuvers, we cant fight them." He gripped the sides of the cockpit again, his eyes sealing shut. A few seconds later, he could feel the fighter juking, rolling, and pitching, not entirely sure what feeling was what. He shrieked as the craft rocked, clearly marking being hit.

"Damn! This things shields are worth less than shit! One hit and they are damn near gone!" he opened his eyes to see the black expanse of space out the canopy, Corneria's pale moon dominating the view above him.

"Stazac! Cease all evasive maneuvers and surrender now! you are out numbered and out gunned!" Vince noticed the count down timer only had seconds left as the voice spoke, and they were less than a click from the location. He gulped as Mira continued to juke and roll the craft, a large blue disk appearing ahead of them. He shouted in triumph when he saw the disk, knowing it was a human one. Humans used a different crystal to create their transfer gates than Corneria, the apoptosis Corneria used being almost non-existent in the sol system, causing the different color of gate. He felt the craft stop trying to dodge, simply gunning for the gate. He was rocked in his seat just before they hit the gate. Several warning alarms went off as they passed through, blue light filling the cockpit for a few seconds before they dropped back into real space, now above a world Vince had only ever seen in images. Earth looked similar to Corneria in many ways, with equally diverse biomes and climates, although the planet was slightly larger.

"Fuck, we lost engines, reactor is unstable, gotta shut it down." Vince absently nodded, his mind enraptured by the planet before him. They could see an orbital platform ahead of them, surrounded by eight others. The eight platforms around the largest one each looked like they were giant floating cannons, each a kilometer and a half long. the main platform they were guarding was a massive spinning ring, using the rotation of the station to likely create gravity, marking the station as pre first contact. First contact had introduced Earth to Gravity Diffusion technology, which allowed for the creation of artificial gravity generators. Almost all of their ships were retrofitted with the tech, but most of their larger ships were pre-first contact, still designed around using a rotating cylinder within the hull of the vessel to stimulate gravity for the ship. An exception to this was the ship currently docked to the station before them, swamping it in size. The eight kilometer long vessel was none other than the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, a highly advanced Carrier that Vince had seen once before, a year ago. it was shaped almost like you had drawn an arrow head on paper, then folded the arrow down the middle to form a shallow angle. This upper section of hull was bristling with turrets, both anti-ship and anti-fighter. The hull also sloped forward slightly, allowing the guns at the rear of the upper hull to still be able to fire forward. Two massive cannons were built into the leading edge of the hull, protruding from the wedge. The underside of the vessel, if you could see it, housed a massive rectangular box, the twin main cannons running along the sides of this box, four powerful ion engines at the back of the ship were also mounted on this lower section of the hull, protruding out beyond the upper hull. This lower hull housed the hangers and crew areas of the ship, the underside of the upper hull bristling with defensive weapons rather than offensive.

"Approaching fighter, respond now or we will open fire!" Vince jumped as the faint voice popped into his headset, causing him to try and shake off his worried thoughts.

"This is Vincent Stazac! Do not fire! Our ship has sustained catastrophic damage! I repeat, we have sustained catastrophic damage!" he bit his lip as he waited for a response, hoping the comms system still had enough power to reach out to who ever had hailed them.

"We can barely read you Stazac, but solid copy. We have a dropship inbound to tow you aboard the Lincoln. Lincoln actual out." He breathed a sigh of relief, pulling the headset off as he looked back at Mira. She was panting in her seat, clutching one of her arms.

"Hey, you okay?" she shook her head, her eyes sealed shut.

"No. but I will be. Damn it this hurts! I could barely move the control yoke by the end there!" he grimaced, knowing the apoptosis poisoning was likely what was effecting her.


	15. Take a Breath

"Yo, old fart!" Rear Admiral Hawkins rolled his eyes at the shouted comment he heard from behind him, the distinctive step clang of the man's steps announcing his presence as much as his rude attitude. Hawkins turned around to face the younger man, crossing his arms as he hollered back.

"Still the same disrespectful spitfire I see. Why did I ever let Will hang out with you?" the man in question was a few dozen feet down the hallway, his tall lanky frame barely filling the baggy flight suit he was wearing. His right pant leg was tucked into a prosthetic suspension peg, having lost the lower part of his right leg in a car accident. Even then, it seemed to barely effect him at all as he easily caught up with Hawkins, casually brushing some of his longer wild brown hair out of his eyes.

"What are you smoking, he's the same way! Just never got caught…." He said the last part much quieter than the first, but Hawkins still caught it.

"And what are you thinking, having hair that long! it's out of regs!" he smirked holding his hand out to Hawkins as he reached him. Hawkins accepted it and was pulled into a half hug before he could even think to respond.

"Oh, you know it's bad ass!" Hawkins rolled his eyes at the whispered words, the younger man, Kyle, continuing as he backed off. "Cause I get away with it. so, you had me transferred here? I'm not complaining, but, still a little funny." They were on Hawkins ship, the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. She was the largest carrier in known existence, carrying three whole wings of fighters and almost four whole divisions of ground troops. It, and all of its dozen or so escorts, were under his direct command.

"Yes. There's someone you should meet. I think she should be getting here any minute. Walk with me." Kyle rolled his speaking as he followed.

"Alright, fine dad! But you know I'm married now, right?" Hawkins couldn't help but curse at the ceiling, trying to keep a straight face.

"God, how does his commanders put up with him!? The kid's crazy! Cant even show proper respect to his superiors!" Kyle chuckled, grinning.

"they don't!" Hawkins groaned just before being unable to hold off a chuckle of his own.

"Where did your parents go wrong with raising you?" Hawkins had expected another friendly jab back at that. What he got instead was a cold glare.

"I don't know, why don't you ask them?" Hawkins sighed and stopped, facing him.

"I'm sorry Kyle. I didn't mean to bring them up." Kyle shrugged, jerking his thumb back in the direction they were heading.

"Not your fault a Cornerian battle group bombarded one of the most populated cities on earth. Now who is it I'm supposed to meet?" he beckoned for Kyle to follow, entering a door they were standing near and into one of the smaller hangers used for deploying salvage craft. Inside was a single salvage ship and a severely damaged Cornerian bomber. The salvage ship still had the ruined hull hoisted off the deck plating, a couple of techs helping a figure pull a couple of duffle bags and several hard cases from the craft's bomb bay. A female Vulpine/feline hybrid was a few feet away, just watching. As soon as Hawkins entered, someone shouted the room to attention, which was instantly followed by Hawkins shouting 'carry on'. The female Cornerian cocked her head slightly at the two of them, an eyebrow raised. She was speaking as Hawkins drew closer, her soft voice quiet, and yet easily heard.

"Admiral Hawkins, right?" he nodded, holding his hand out to her, to which she accepted the friendly hand shake.

"Correct. So you would be Mira Marshall?" she nodded and smiled as he gestured over to Kyle. "This is Lieutenant Kyle Strumfist." They shook hands, Mira staring at him for a few seconds before speaking.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" now it was Kyle's turn to look confused, staring at the woman with an almost a shocked expression before he shook his head. She looked puzzled for a second or so before it seemed to suddenly hit her. "Oh! You are one of Will's friends aren't you?" understanding seemed to dawn on him as well, a smirk crossing his face.

"Oh! So you are the alien love bite? Good to meet finally meet you, but if you're here, where's that idiot?" He was looking out to the figure half in the fighter, only to notice the man's bushy white tail.

"Will was captured." He frowned, his attention returning to Hawkins.

"If Will was captured, why isn't he here? What, did the Chinese or Russians get him?" Hawkins shook his head, puzzling Kyle even more.

"No. A Lylatian Terror group that is allied with Mohammed's army here in the Sol system. They are also responsible for starting this war." Kyle rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in the same movement.

"Great, another one of your crackpot theories. Do you not remember what kind of ship attacked earth? And do you not remember how many there were? Unless this 'terror group' is the CDF, or has the power to out gun the CDF, your theory is wrong old man." Hawkins was about to respond when Mira spoke up.

"It isn't a crack pot theory. Earth wasn't the only planet to have a city annihilated." As she spoke, she brought up a holo video of the 'human' fleet that had bombarded a Cornerian city at the start of the war, Kyle staring at the footage in disbelief.

"Great, you hired some mercenary to back up your crack pot theory this time. You know, that is one thing I wish Will hadn't learned from you. If you don't have anything else for me, I'll be in my cabin." With that he turned and marched out of the hanger, Hawkins eliciting a grown as the man left. No matter how hard he tried to fight it, the kid felt like a son of his own more often than he was willing to admit.

"Well, he's full of sunshine. What do you got on Will?" he turned to her, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Nothing more than a ship's projected heading. Even if that ship is at the Lincoln's capabilities, it will take weeks for that ship to get here. For now, I'll show you two to your cabin. You two can set up in there. Although, I'm sorry, I have to leave personnel on you two at all times." She nodded, speaking as she backed away toward the wrecked fighter.

"Got it. I'll help vince with the bags." He watched her go, frowning. Whether he would ever admit it or not, he wanted to see what kind of woman had managed to sweep Will off his feet, having been shocked to learn of their relationship after what had happened to Amanda. He shrugged and gave a marine guarding the hanger the cabin number to put them in, also instructing him to go everywhere with the two of them until further relieved. As soon as he was done, he left the hanger, not even looking back.

* * *

Fox closed his eyes as he ran his fingers through the fur atop his head. He was in the small command room, trying to focus on the mass of data they still had to sift through, one of the human tech teams having managed to decode another few gigabytes of data, and without Rob or another AI system, sifting through it, it was a completely manual task. But no matter how hard he tried to focus on it, he ended up thinking about Fara. Her funeral had been earlier that day, and memories of her kept flashing through his mind, almost too fast to comprehend. From times while they were still kids, dating and living life without a care in the world, to times when she had been there for him, like his father's death. It was all flooding through his mind, totally overwhelming it. He couldn't help but wonder what was going through Wolf's mind, having never closely interacted with his long time rival before, and the only glimpses of his relationship with Fara seemed more like a playful fling. Even so, it was very clear that the lupine was taking her death as hard as he was.

Fox groaned as he realized he had gotten himself sidetracked again, wasting almost half an hour getting distracted. He had sent Wolf out earlier that day, a few hours after the funeral actually, to fly out to the badlands and talk to a sheriff out there Fox knew. He had helped out their town in the past with a pirate problem, and had been trading information since they reached Mecbeth. Given it was maybe a half hour flight, he was kinda surprised Wolf wasn't back yet.

 _Damn it Fox! Focus!_ His mental shout at himself, only made him groan again, slumping in the chair he was using to rest his feet. _Maybe you should call Krystal. She always seemed to be able to clear your head._ The thought popped into his head entirely of it's own accord, Fox not hesitating to do as it said. A few clicks brought up the holo-tables call function, Fox easily typing in Krystal's comm number, having memorized it. it rang a couple times before her voice spilled from the speakers, no video to go with it.

"Fox!? Your timing is absolutely terrible!" he cocked his head at the speakers, utterly confused.

"Why's that Krys?" he heard a faint embarrassed chuckle come through the speakers that he knew very well, having heard it many times before.

"Because I'm in the shower! Or was. Guess I'm not now." Fox instantly blushed, chuckling slightly himself in his normal nervous fashion when it came to women. He was fighting with his mind over the images that kept trying to surface, attempting to not remember the several times the two of them had showered together. "Fox, I know what's going through your mind right now, and get it out of your head, perv."

"Hey, I'm a guy, what do you expect? Wait, you can read my mind right now?" she laughed on the other, end, just the sound of it sending Fox's spirits soaring, just as it always had.

"No, stupid, I just know you that well. Now what's up? I doubt you just called for small talk." Fox sighed, his brief moment of embarrassment and happiness slipping away.

"Krystal….. we found Fara's body yesterday." The line went silent for several seconds, Fox unable to stop a few tears from leaking out. When she finally responded, her voice was very quiet, almost whispered.

"I'm sorry Fox." The small quiet phrase was dripping in sadness and understanding, in a way he had known only Krystal as even capable of producing. "Do you think Will is…" her voice dropped off, Fox knowing what she was asking.

"Honestly Krys, I don't know. It's not looking good. We've found mentions to a 'Ghost Initiative' but everything is so vague and coded that we have no idea what we are looking at. We're having a hard time even tracking the elements we know of, much less finding Will….. honestly…. I'm scared we are going to find him just like we did Fara." Fox was actually shocked when Krystal instantly responded, her voice steady and unwavering.

"You'll find him Fox. And we all know will, he's probably the toughest person we have ever known. He survived a nuke, remember? He'll be alive when you find him." Fox couldn't help but smile at her words, both shocked and relieved at her sudden confidence in him. They were both silent for some time, but it oddly wasn't an uncomfortable silence. It was almost as if they were both simply savoring this moment that they could talk and be there for each other, even if they didn't need to be. Or, that's at least what Fox was hoping.

"Krystal, how's your wrist?" he heard her sigh on the other end, Fox knowing that meant it was likely not very good.

"Still supposed to be wearing a brace, have it off right now but it hurts still. Doc says it's healing well, but it will probably always be easy to break in the future." Fox nodded, even though he knew she wouldn't see it. he wanted to speak to her more, but his mind kept drawing up a blank. "Fox, I know it's still a couple days early, but happy birthday. Go do something fun or, at least take some time to relax okay? For me." Fox blinked several times, stunned. He hadn't even realized that his birthday was a few days away. he definitely didn't expect Krystal to have remembered it either.

"Krys….. I can't, there's too much going on! This war, Will being missing, we keep losing people. I cant stop for even a second. Every second we waste is another second that more damage is done. I can't st-" his voice was cut off as Krystal's erupted from the speakers, almost forcefully so.

"I know what's at stake Fox. That's why I'm asking you to relax. If you don't, you'll start making mistakes. Mistakes that might get people killed. Okay?" he closed his eyes and sighed, resting his head up against the wall for several seconds before he finally responded, his voice very quiet.

"Okay. I will Krys. For you. Is Mira doing okay?" He opened his eyes as he spoke his question, leaning forward in his chair as well.

"Ummmm she's… not on Corneria anymore. Will's dad….. Kinda…. Summoned her. she's fine, I'm sure. She's been doing much better, they should have arrived at…. Well, you know, this morning." Fox went wide eyed, about to speak when she continued on her own. "And before you ask, there's a chance she might be able to help find Will, and there is no way in hell I am getting between those two. last person who did got the business end of a knife through his cranium." Fox smirked, a small chuckle escaping his muzzle.

"Yeah. she'll probably be fine. We should probably feel sorry for who gets in her way. Anyway, Krystal, Thank you. I needed this talk." He didn't know how, but he knew she was smiling on the other end.

"Of course Fox. If you ever need to talk, just call okay? I'm always here." He nodded before saying goodbye and hanging up. He couldn't help but smile, suddenly feeling much more relaxed and at peace than before he called.

* * *

Miyu couldn't help but grin mischievously as she slipped away from the command room's door. She didn't want Fox to know that she had overheard Fox's conversation, now having a plan of her own. She pulled her communicator from her pocket and quickly prepped a group message, adding Falco, Katt, Wolf, and Ramirez all too it. as soon as she had, she sent the group a message to meet her in an empty room near the back of the apartments they were in. it didn't take her long to reach there, which kinda shocked her because she wasn't the first one to enter the room. Falco and Katt were already in there when she arrived, the light in the room already on. The room also seemed oddly dust free and clean, two facts that hadn't been true about any of the rooms the team had inhabited when they first arrived. Falco and Katt were on opposite sides of the room, Katt in a chair, Falco just leaning up against a wall with his arms crossed, glaring at each other. But something about the glare wasn't quite right, almost like it was a façade. She ignored that fact, speaking almost as soon as she had entered the room.

"Wow, I didn't expect to be beaten here. I assume you got my message?" they both nodded, Falco speaking up as he bounced off the wall.

"The hell's up Miyu?" she held up a finger, telling him to wait. It didn't take much longer for Ramirez to arrive, who entered the room wordlessly and instantly found himself a chair. He seemed to not really care what was going on, looking completely bored. Finally, after several minutes, Wolf arrived, but he wasn't alone. Four others were with him, a cinnamon brown female canine, a dusty tan vulpine, a spotted female feline, and finally, a very bushy furred bulky canine, none of which were familiar to Miyu. Ramirez was the first to speak up, his voice both cautious and curious at the same time.

"uh, Wolf, who are they?" Wolf, who's fur was still matted in places and had a particular smell to him, grunted as he quickly found the last chair in the room, plopping into it.

"Meet Sheila Spitz, Derrick Woods, Sabrina Garretson, and Louis Bickell." Falco had moved the second they entered the room, crossing over to the bushy bulky canine and instantly pulling him into a half handshake, half hug. Or more accurately, got pulled into.

"What's up lou, long time no see?" The canine smirked as Falco spoke, the two clearly knowing each other. Katt waved hi to him as well, but before anything else could happen, Miyu cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention.

"So I'm guessing everyone is wondering why I asked you all to meet me here…." Falco instantly cut her off, which earned him several glares from across the room.

"Yeah, that's one of our questions, among a few dozen others." The glares were followed by several eye rolls, Miyu taking a deep breath before she continued again.

"Well, Fox's birthday is in a couple days. We could all use a little pick me up, so I thought we might throw him a surprise party? I know it sounds stupid, with everything going on and all, but, I don't know, to me, it feels right." Surprisingly, Wolf was the first to speak, nodding in agreement as he did so.

"I'm down. So long as we don't get too distracted." Ramirez shrugged beside him, clearly not really caring one way or another. Katt spoke up next, a smile on her face.

"Well, it'd be nice, that's for sure. Cant let this war ruin all of our fun, can we? We need a cake though….." before any more could be said, a near explosion of sound and energy erupted from the female canine, causing every person in the room to wince slightly.

"I would Love to bake a cake! It would be a blast, although I'd need some supplies, ya know the basics, utensils, flour, cause you know, it isn't a cake without that, oh and I could do so many different flavors, I've always wanted to try my hand at making red velvet…." Miyu raised an eyebrow at the canine, unable to help but smirk as she started to ramble on about the different ingredients she would need for the different kinds of cakes she could cook, the tools she would need to do things like calligraphy and images on the cake, going on and on, the conversation literally continuing on with out her as she continued to ramble on. The vulpine had smacked his forehead with his palm, mumbling what sounded like 'here we go' under his breath, earning a smack on his arm by the female feline for it. Lou was smirking at his three travel companions rolling his eyes as the canine continued to ramble on, now talking about different foods they could cook to go along with the cake. Miyu glanced over at the others, nearly freezing as she realized that wolf was watching the canine, and shockingly enough, smiling. _Maybe this little adventure will kill two birds with one stone?_ She almost cheered at that thought, wanting Wolf to have some happiness as well.

"This is fucking stupid." Falco's bitter voice caused the entire room to freeze, even cutting off the rambling canine. Before anyone could respond, he stormed out of the room, Katt giving everyone an apologetic look.

"I'll talk to him." Miyu nodded as Katt spoke, just before Katt left. The others seemed to already be delegating tasks to each other, Wolf and Ramirez being responsible for keeping Fox out of the loop, Lou and Derrick, the vulpine, were responsible for party decoration and some sort of gift for him, Lou saying he had an idea or two. And finally, Sheila and Sabrina were in charge of the food, both acquiring it and cooking it. Miyu herself opted to help the two of them, the group leaving the room in a visibly cheerier mood.


	16. Cause You May Not Get Another

Katt stormed out of the room, chasing Falco. He hadn't gone far, the door leading to the back entrance swaying shut. Katt followed, seeing the avian a few feet from the door, angrily shaking his head. Katt stepped up right beside him, instantly elbowing his side, and not gently at that.

"What the hell is up with you, Falco?!" he groaned as she spoke, leaning up against the wall and looking at the dirt.

"This is a fucking stupid idea. We have one friend who is dead, another captured, and we want to host a fucking party?! What the fuck is Miyu thinking! I know it's the 'great Fox McCloud's' birthday, but this isn't a fucking time for a celebration!" Falco paced back and forth as he shouted, this sudden anger not being something she was used to, and it frankly scared her a little. But she knew that this anger wasn't directed toward her, and knowing Falco as she did, she knew it was more than likely just his frustration. After months of digging in the shadows, they were no closer to ending the war.

"Falco, we are all frustrated right now. but you need to stop. We all do. If we don't slow down, we'll miss something, and anything could mean the difference to between someone's life or death. So relax, take it easy for a couple days. Ramirez wont just drop the security teams, and we need rest. Okay?" she grabbed his arm, getting him to stop pacing. He groaned again, slumping against the wall with his eyes closed.

"Why do I ever listen to you?" Katt smirked, hugging him and using the motion to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Cause you're an idiot all the time and without me, you'd be even worse. Besides, you know you love me." He groaned again, one eye cracking open.

"I know you are all up and for being totally open about us, but tone it down, will ya?" she rolled her eyes, easily telling how embarrassed he was being. Who would've thought the always collected and cool falco would ever act like this? She smirked at the thought, instantly knowing what to say next.

"Aww, is the poor little birdy embarrassed? Doesn't want people to know isn't such a cool calm lone wolf anymore?" she fluttered her eyes at him, mentally cheering as he glared at her.

"Shesh, woman, get off my case. Just would rather figure us out before letting others get involved." He kept his voice very quiet, clearly worried that someone was listening.

"Oh, I thought we had it figured out almost perfectly. Same bed…. Clothes never on…. Sleep…. Optional." She stepped closer to him as her voice lowered to nothing more than a whisper, running a single finger down his chest in the most enticing fashion she could manage. His feathers started to poof out, showing that she was well under his skin by now.

"Shesh, not so loud. I'm just glad we got that message before hand, otherwise, things would've been a bit more…. Awkward in there." Katt chuckled as she stepped back, clasping her hands behind her back, letting them rest on the base of her tail.

"Yeah, just a little. Wanna pick up where we left off then?" he rolled his eyes, but still nodded.

"Sure, why not, but a new locale is a must." She grinned, knowing exactly where to take him.

* * *

 _I smiled and took a deep breath, the cool salty air filling my lungs. No matter how badly humans got treated nowadays, Corneria was still a gorgeous world. My eyes were staring off into the ocean, the sounds of cars and people muffled in the seaside park I was standing in, my arms crossed and leaning on the rail separating the park from the beach. I felt someone's arm around mine, their head leaning on my shoulder, knowing it was Mira. The two of us had been quiet for some time, just standing here and watching Solar slowly droop below the horizon._

 _"this is beautiful." The last bits of light were still lingering on the sky when Mira spoke, her voice soft, and yet, I couldn't quite hear it. I knew what she was saying, but it was as if her voice was gone. **Why can't I remember her voice?** I looked over at her after she spoke, unable to picture her at all. I knew she was there, I knew it was her, but try as I might, I still couldn't remember what she looked like, not even what races she was a hybrid of. All except one thing. Her eyes were a deep sapphire blue, and even in the confines of a memory, they were still absolutely mesmerizing to me._

 _"Well, it's nice." She raised an eyebrow at me, myself continuing on my own. "I mean, it's a great view, but there's a better one right here." She rolled her eyes as I shifted my hand to give her arm a gentle squeeze._

 _"Flirt." I gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek after she spoke, the soft fur almost ticklish to the touch._

 _"Why does that sound like an insult?" she chuckled, bumping me with her hips._

 _"Maybe it is, flirt." I rolled my eyes, popping off the rail and managing to snake my arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace._

 _"Maybe I'm just trying to butter you up to get something from you?" she laughed again, breaking off our hug and starting to drag me away by my hand._

 _"True, except, you don't ever plan anything, stupid. You just roll with whatever life gives you. So if you don't plan anything, you cant possibly be trying to butter me up for something." I lifted my arm up around her shoulder without letting go of her hand, pulling her close to my chest._

 _"I don't know, maybe I just want people to **think** that's the case? I mean, really, I'm plotting galaxy wide domination right now. and maybe I'm buttering you up to get you to join my cause?" she outright laughed, the sound of it bringing a massive smile to my face._

 _"Will, you are such an idiot sometimes."_

 _"I aim to please." I shrugged as I spoke, still smiling. She sighed happily, letting her head drop onto my shoulder yet again._

 _"Well, consider me very pleased."_

I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling as the memory began slipping from my mind. It was one of the latest memories I had of Mira, and the only one that I could distinctly remember anything about her. even if it was just her eyes, it was something. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember anything else about her. before too long, I found myself slipping off into another memory.

 _The room was dark, but slowly getting lighter as the first rays of light started to creep over the horizon. I had been awake for almost an hour by now, but I hadn't moved at all. Mira was still sound asleep, her back pressed tightly against my chest, both of my arms wrapped around her. I was simply watching her as she slept, noticing the occasional ear twitch, accompanied by the occasional flick of her tail, which was resting across our legs. She had been mumbling about something earlier in her sleep, something she often did. I didn't catch what, her voice too quiet for my translator to detect it. but, right now, she was soundly asleep, the soft wisp of her breath going in and out, very slow and steady, slowly trying to lull me to sleep. We had been on Corneria for only a couple of days, and I had to admit, since the two of us had started dating, I was happier than I had been in my entire life. I was calm, something I hadn't been for a long while. I almost never had nightmares any more, and even then, those I had seemed to have lost their punch._

 _"I love you Mira." I didn't know what prompted me to speak, but my quiet voice, combined with the light creeping into the room, was enough to wake the sleeping woman. She yawned as she twisted around enough to see me, a smile creeping across her face._

 _"Good morning Will." Her voice was quiet, her eyes barely open. she was clearly barely awake right now. "I remember when I asked you if I could wake up like this every morning." I smirked, knowing exactly what she was talking about._

 _"Well, I may have spoken to soon then. I remember telling you it wasn't going to happen again." She chuckled as she shifted position, resting her head on my chest._

 _"Well, you were obviously wrong. cant complain about that." Her eyes closed again after she spoke, seeming to slip back into her sleep. My own eyes closed, the warmth of her body against mine slowly beating out my old habits of being awake at this hour. Her quiet voice startled me as she suddenly spoke again. "I'm not just dreaming, right? You really are here, right?" I nodded, quickly realizing that probably wasn't enough._

 _"Yeah. I'm really here." She was silent for a few seconds after I spoke, making me think she had fallen back asleep._

 _"Good. Sometimes, all of this….. just feels too good to be true." I smiled and tightened my grip on her for a second, knowing exactly how she felt._

 _"I know. I can barely believe it myself. I love you." I felt her lips touch my cheek for a second, the small touch so soft that I almost didn't notice it._

 _"I love you tooo…" her voice elongated as she spoke, dropping off as she slipped back to sleep, myself quickly following behind her._

* * *

Fox sighed, letting his head drop onto his hand, where his elbow was resting on the door of the SUV they were using. They had found information on a drug ring that the leaders were somehow involved with the Andross Remnant, and Fox had managed to convince the group to let him do recon on the place. He couldn't figure out why they were so insistent he let it wait a few days, although, it was quite possible that Falco had remembered his birthday for a change, and that they didn't want him working that day. What he didn't expect though, was for both Wolf and Ramirez to go with him, Ramirez bringing a small stealthy quad rotor drone, much like Will's had been, but not built out of random parts and pieces. This had allowed them to gather data from several kilometers away, and start mapping out their compound should they decide to assault it. it had dramatically cut down how long they had to be out there, just a single day and they were already on the way back.

"Hey Fox, I ever tell you about my kid?" Fox glanced at the drivers seat, where Ramirez was sitting. He seemed to totally focused on the road, but the occasional glance Fox's way told Fox there was a point behind this conversation.

"You have a kid?" Wolf was speaking from behind Fox, Fox not even bothering to look back. Although, if he had, he would have seen Wolf lean forward in his seat, curious. Wolf was looking better than he had for the past few weeks, since Fara's initial disappearance. His fur was no longer matted and unkempt, although still being a little wild looking, that was just the way his fur was. At least it was clean now, and he didn't stink anymore.

"Yeah. Andrew, call him Andy. He's only three right now, his birthday was yesterday." Fox glanced at Ramirez again at the word 'birthday', but Ramirez seemed to hardly notice. Instead, he continued on his own. "I'm actually not supposed to be in the field anymore. His mother divorced me and left me with him, just before the war started. They were gonna move me to a desk but, well, this war started and it was all hands on deck from there on."

"Wait so if his mother is out of the picture right now, where's he staying?" Ramirez glanced Fox's way as Fox spoke, Fox's attention now totally focused on Ramirez.

"Mill's wife is watching him. They don't have any kids yet so, she volunteered to watch him the second she learned of us leaving." Fox nodded, silence slowly creeping back into the vehicle. It wasn't long before they arrived at the head quarters, Ramirez turning the vehicle off and getting out. Fox was about to do the same when Wolf put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Fox, there's something I've been meaning to tell you." Fox twisted in his seat so he could see Wolf, raising an eyebrow at him. Wolf let his hand fall away from Fox's shoulder, leaning back into the seat again. His mouth opened and closed several times before he seemed to finally find his voice again. "I know I mentioned I had a little brother earlier. Well, he was killed in a dogfight. I was seventeen, he was fifteen. We were flying a twin seater bomber, going after a freighter with a group of pirates. Your father and his Star Fox team, intercepted us. James was the one to fire on our fighter, his first target being the turret position my brother was in. that's why I had it out for Star Fox for so long, why I formed Star Wolf in the first place." Fox watched him curiously as he spoke, easily able to tell how hard this was to talk about for the lupine.

"So what changed that you stopped gunning for us?" Wolf closed his eyes for a second, taking a breath before he responded to Fox.

"I realized that I shouldn't blame James. Or Star Fox. You are mercenaries, you do a job, and get paid. That job isn't always a nice one, and no matter what, you'll end up killing some folk. No point in getting angry over it. If anything, it's my fault for having led my brother into the wrong side of the law. And I really wish I could go back and steer us clear of that." Fox frowned, speaking softly as a single tear slipped down Wolf's cheek.

"For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry Wolf." Wolf just shrugged, opening his door as he wiped the tears away from his eye.

"Meh, don't mention it pup, I got this cool ass fake eye out of it, and now I can see perfectly at night and have limited thermal vision abilities. Cant say no to that as a mercenary!" Fox smirked opening his own door and slipping out. His feet carried him toward the main door of the building, realizing that the lights were off. Granted, it was pretty late, Solar having dropped below the horizon by now, but it still confused him a little that no one seemed to be awake, and that Ramirez hadn't turned the lights on. He slipped into the room, only to be blinded by the lights, he shielded his eyes for a second, just before a chorus of happy birthday's assaulted his ears. When he finally looked at the room, he was shocked to find it had been completely redecorated, most of the two teams smiling at him. They had set up a table in the center of the room, and piled it with party foods, even having a cake on the table. The cake was a very dark blue, almost black, a large Star Fox symbol on it that looked like it was made from some sort of glistening red candy, a large happy birthday above the symbol, Fox written below, both in sky blue icing. The cake was covered in small glistening white droplets, almost perfectly mimicking a star field. Fox was so stunned, he could barely think, attempting to speak, but only managing a small sputter, everyone in the room had grown eerily quiet, clearly waiting to know what he thought. An answer they never got. Before Fox could unscramble his brain, before any of them really knew what was happening, a burst of light, accompanied by a crack, was the last Fox knew.


	17. Broken

Mira rolled off the bed she was on, her bare feet hardly making any noise at all, even though she had landed from the top bunk. She felt cold and exposed, even though she was fully clothed, aside from her boots, and had even turned the temperature of the room up a few degrees. She tried to not think about it, slipping her boots on, and seemingly just in time, as there was a knock on her door. She quickly moved to the door, taking another quick look at the cabin around her. it had a small bathroom at the back, a single desk, and two bunks, stacked on top of each other. The bunks were on one's left as you entered the room, a set of drawers built into the wall across from them for one's clothing and personal items. It was a very cramped room, Vince taking the lower bunk, not that he was even in it right now. she pressed the button to open the door, finding a fully armed and armored soldier on the other side. But unlike the others she had escort her, his weapon was slung casually over his shoulder, smiling welcomingly toward her.

"Hi, I'm Specialist Bale, I'm supposed to take you to the platoon you are to be advising for the next few weeks. You can call me Haden though." He held his hand out to her, he had vibrant green eyes, easy to see with his visor slid up onto his helmet.

"Pleasure to meet you. Mira Marshall." He nodded and gestured her out the door, instantly walking as she stepped out.

"I'm on first squad of our second platoon, bravo company, first of the five oh ninth, one twenty-third airborne division, who you are supposed to be advising. Don't worry, their usually a pretty cool bunch. Usually." She smirked as he spoke, realizing that he was the first human to be openly friendly with her that she had met on this ship.

"Alright. Seen any fighting in this war?" his face turned dark and he nodded, not really looking at her as he responded.

"Yeah. was a part of the initial Katina invasion, some of the fighting on Fortuna, the Saurian invasion…. Jeez, that one was rough." She gulped, realizing it was highly likely she had shot at some of the men she was about to meet.

"I'm sorry, it really was." He nodded, a small smile sliding across his features.

"Yeah. heard you were part of why we lost that one." She nodded, earning a friendly clap on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I don't blame ya. A few of the others might, but I wont. This war is way too big. We shoulda just found who was responsible for New York and killed them, called it good." Mira instantly agreed, nodding as she spoke.

"Yeah. sadly, you wont get them shooting at Corneria." He raised an eyebrow at her, Mira realizing that she had revealed something she probably wasn't supposed to. She mentally groaned, knowing it would be wrong to not continue. "the New York attack was not the work of the CDF. There was a similar attack by UEC ships on a Cornerian city. Right now, myself and a select group from both sides are trying to find out who, so we can end this war." He smiled again, his attention refocusing on where he was going.

"Ya know, I always thought this war was a little fishy. Glad to be helping you miss Marshall." She smiled as he turned into a hallway, stopping at the first door before stepping through. Inside were several dozen human soldiers, half of them with uniform tops off, leaving them in t-shirts. It was an open bay, filled with what looked like bunk beds. Further inspection showed that each 'bunk' was actually a bed and locker combo. A few stripped M32's were lying on some of the beds, the conversation dropping off as soon as Mira entered the room. Every single pair of eyes were fixed on her, some curious, some furious. A pair of soldiers, a woman about Mira's size, and a male who was much bigger than most of the people in the room, began moving too them. The woman was much closer, her attention focused on the person beside her.

"Hey Bale, get yourself a new pet?" she winked her brown eye's at Mira, causing Mira to raise an eyebrow at her. she had dark skin, and very dark almost black brown hair. She may have been about Mira's height, but she had a very athletic body, where Mira was honestly medicore at best in that regard.

"Really Maria. This here is Mira Marshall. She got attached to the platoon as an advisor." The woman gave Mira a quick smirk before glaring at Bale.

"I know that! You are so gullible sometimes. Maria Carrion, medic, dancer, and occasionally, riflemen." She held her hand out to Mira, which Mira accepted. The male soldier from earlier arrived at the little group, clearing his throat to gain their attention. He was clearly older than the other two, probably closer to his thirties, and was heavily built. One glance at him and you could have pictured him wielding a sword and steel armor. and yet, something about his features was gentle, almost fatherly in a way.

"Sergeant First Class Mason. Second platoon's Platoon Sergeant, and acting Lieutenant." She shook his hand, easily able to feel the power in his grip. "I see you've met the platoon medic and R-T-O."

"Yeah, uh, what's an R-T-O?" he looked shocked for a second, something about her voice seeming to startle him.

"You speak English?" she nodded, Bale and Carrion both exchanging glances. Clearly the two of them hadn't noticed that their translators weren't activating when she spoke. "Hmm, makes life a little easier. R-T-O's is our main comms guy. I can introduce you to the others later. Heard you have some information about our goal I might find interesting?" she nodded, not actually knowing what she was supposed to tell them, but settling on what she had told Bale earlier.

"Yeah, this war wasn't caused by the CDF. New York was not a CDF attack. A similar attack happened on Corneria. We are going to find out exactly who is behind those attacks, and stop this war." He smirked and nodded, turning to the room at large before he continued to speak.

"Listen up! This here is Mira Marshall! You are to treat her with the same respect and authority as me! I hear of anyone disrespecting her, and I might just skip smoking your ass and give you U-C-M-J action. Roger?" the group all shouted similar variants of 'yes' ranging from 'yes sergeant', to 'roger' and 'Hooah'. "if I were you Marshall, I'd go play meet and greet. Maybe share some info with the men. That will get you some points with them, and you might earn their trust before you gotta try to order them around. One thing though. These are my men, and if your actions harm any one of them, I will personally see to you being thrown in prison for the rest of your life. If you even make it there." She nodded at his words, taking a deep breath before following Bale into the group, suddenly not being so sure about the idea of working with a group of human soldiers.

* * *

Sheila watched in horror as a silvery blue lance ripped through the glass door of the main entrance, tearing into Fox's lower back. He slumped to the ground, several people all shouting sniper at the same time. She barely had time to register that shout when several more rounds were fired throught the windows and door, a grey furred mass slamming her to the ground, the zinging cracks of plasma shots ripping at her ears. Several of the shots hit the table they had set the food on, sending bits of food and cake everywhere. The person on top of her had drawn a blaster and started firing out of the shattered windows, Sheila's mind finally catching back up to her. she shoved the figure off of her, realizing it was the lupine, Wolf, and drew her own blaster. Red, green, blue, and silvery blue bolts ripped out of the various weapons around the room, not really aimed at a specific point. They were all just trying to make the sniper put his head down, raking everything they saw in plasma fire. Even still, more silvery bolts ripped into the room, Sheila hearing a female scream to her right. She didn't look, trying trace the bolts back to the source. She couldn't see anything out the door, into the pitch black night. Suddenly, Wolf grabbed her arm, shouting as he did so.

"Follow me! Everyone else, covering fire!" she took off after him, following him out of one of the shattered windows. Meanwhile, volley after volley of plasma bolts ripped out past them, all toward the rough position the sniper had been in. the two of them skirted out and around, realizing the fire had been coming from a small store front across the street from the apartments, Sheila's eyes quickly adjusting to the dark evening now that she wasn't inside. She followed Wolf around to the back of the building, seeing a dark burly figure in the small employee parking area. The figure had stopped as they came around, Wolf cursing as a pair of silvery bolts were launched at them. They both leapt aside, one of the bolts, singeing Sheila's arm fur. She fired a pair of red bolts back from her pistol as Wolf growled out a single word. "Midnight!" she went wide eyed, just before her anger took over. She sprinted after the figure, only to see a purple jet of light appear on his back, followed by him shooting into the air. She fired several plasma blasts at him as he soared away, but none of the shots connected, a stream of curses erupting from her mouth when he disappeared from sight. "Hey, comeon, we gotta get back. We'll get him another time." Wolf's voice was surprisingly calm, Sheila fighting the urge to yell at him. She took several deep breaths to calm herself before she nodded, holstering her side arm. They quickly moved back to the building to find it a flurry of activity. Several of the others had been glanced by plasma bolts, all but Fox and Sabrina being minor grazes. Sabrina had taken a shot to the leg, which a medic was already tending too. She was awake and alert, although clearly in pain. Fox on the other hand, was being gently shifted onto a collapsible litter, already bandaged up. He was out cold, with a breathing mask already on his face. Several armored humans, as well as a couple of Wolf's old cronies, rushed past, out into the night to try and secure the area. Ramirez noticed them enter, moving over to them.

"Fox is bad. We are using Lou's ship to move him up to the Texas. Sabrina too." Wolf nodded, Ramirez continuing much more quietly. "You ID the shooter?" Wolf nodded, almost imperceptibly.

"Yeah. Midnight." Ramirez cursed, Sheila speaking up before either of them could.

"I'm going with Lou and Sabrina to this ship you mentioned. I cant leave my friend. If you find that bastard, kill him for me, will ya?" Wolf nodded and she turned away, moving over to where Sabrina was sitting on the floor, Derrick crouched beside her. Derrick nodded to her as she approached, Sheila crouching in front of them. "You two ready to go?" they both nodded in unison, a pained expression on Sabrina's face. Sheila helped Derrick hoist her between them, Sheila's much taller frame making the action a little difficult, before moving out toward the back of the building. It didn't take them long to get onto the freighter and get airborne, nor did it take long for them to reach the orbiting ship. the ship was using the planets shattered moon as a refuge, hiding amongst the chunks of lead rich rock. The ship was a long cylinder, nearly four kilometers long. it had been designed before humanity gained access to G-Diffusers, the outer hull housing all of the weapons systems and hangers, with an inner hull that rotated to produce artificial gravity for the crew. Although, this inner hull no longer spun, gravity generators having been installed on board, it did help improve the ship's ability to take punishment, all of the vital systems hidden along the core of the vessel. Not that she saw any of this, waiting down in the fairly large cargo bay of the freighter. She felt the distinctive thud of the vessel landing, the ramp lowering to allow a medical team aboard. They had two rolling gurneys with them, hoisting Fox off the litter and onto a gurney, a pair of medics helping move Sabrina onto one. Sheila followed them as they moved into the ship. they arrived in an infirmary where doctors and nurses took over for the medics, shooing Sheila and Derrick out. They exchanged a quick glance before sitting down in the corridor, not knowing what else to do.

* * *

Wolf marched through the familiar halls of the U.S.S. Texas, heading to one of its for infirmaries. The ship was a little strange to move through, it's design causing the floor to curve upward where ever you looked. it had been a little unsettling when he had first arrived on the ship, but he was used to it by now. it didn't take him long to arrive at the infirmary, stepping inside. There were only two patients inside, the female Feline and Fox. Sheila and the desert Vulpine were both with the feline, who was wide awake and quietly talking with them. Fox was eerily still, hooked up to several monitors a doctor was scribbling down notes into a note book as he watched the monitors. Wolf instantly moved toward the man, speaking.

"How is he?" the doctor jumped at the sound of Wolf's deep voice, traces of anger in it.

"He's alive. But we cant repair the damage." Wolf raised an eyebrow at him, the doctor rushing to speak. "The plasma round, it glanced his spine. Best case scenario, he's paralyzed from the waist down. Permanently." Wolf groaned, his eyes closing as he let his forehead drop to his hand.

"Does he know?" Wolf opened his eyes as he spoke, looking at the doctor, who shook his head.

"He hasn't woken up yet. His nervous system took quite the shook when he was hit. Vitals are all erratic right now." Wolf nodded and stepped up next to the vulpine, a small quiet sigh slipping out. Years before, he would've loved to be standing where he was now, over a crippled and broken Fox McCloud. But now, the sight saddened him. He had learned to respect the man, not just for his skills as a pilot, but his ability to do whatever it took to do what's right. Something Wolf now wished he could say the same about himself. A small grown slipped out of Fox's mouth, gaining Wolf's attention. Fox's eyes slowly started to open, only to snap completely open, Fox panicking.

"What's going on!? Who's… where…." His face froze as he looked around, staring at wolf for a few seconds before he softly spoke. "Wolf…. i…. I cant feel my legs." Wolf placed a hand on his shoulder, finding his mouth dry as he realized there was no avoiding telling him.

"Fox….. Midnight attacked the hideout. His first shot clipped your spine. Your paralyzed Fox. Permanently." Fox's face changed to one of utter horror, his entire body quivering. He rubbed his snout with both hands, before running them over his head. "Fox, just…. Try not to think about it. okay?" he nodded, Wolf letting out a sigh. He could tell the man was terrified, but there was nothing he could really do.

"Tell me you got that bastard." Wolf shook his head Fox cursing as he looked away. the two of them stayed that way for several minutes before someone spoke, Wolf recognizing Sheila's voice.

"We should take Fox to Corneria." Wolf stared at her for a second, totally confused. She continued on her own, her words drawing Fox's attention.

"Cornerian medicine far outstrips human. They might be able to fix Fox. I mean, it's worth a shot, isn't it?" Wolf, glanced at Fox, noticing the faint spark of hope in his eyes. That small spark was all Wolf needed to know what he was going to do.

"Alright. Get Fox to Corneria. We need him in this fight. And Fox? Don't worry about us. I'll take care of things here, and get our people off Mecbeth. It's time we moved on anyway." Fox nodded, oddly remaining quiet. Wolf started to turn away when Fox suddenly spoke, very quietly.

"Wolf, be careful, alright? Don't do anything stupid." Wolf stared at him for a second before smirking.

"Pup, you got a lot to learn if you think I do anything stupid. Take care Fox. And don't forget, that hide of yours is still mine to tan!" Fox chuckled as Wolf strode from the room, taking a deep breath in the corridor to center himself before moving back toward the hanger.


	18. Sleepless

Mira rubbed her tired eyes as she moved through the ship. it was kind of strange, being on a military warship after being a mercenary for so long. the crew ran as three different shifts, allowing soldiers sixteen hours off a day, eight on duty. This made the ship always active, with spare crews covering vital stations as crew members slept, compared to the Great Fox, which always ran with the crew sleeping all at once, generally, and Rob monitoring the ship while they slept. She had found this constant activity hard to sleep through, and this, coupled with her already low ability to sleep for the time being, was wrecking her. so, unable to sleep, she had decided to move to one of the ships fighter hangers, hoping to at least get an up close look at human fighters, if not maybe get her hands on one and see how they worked. She had learned that she had a small passion for fighter maintenance, having spent so much time working on her Arwing.

The hangers of the ship were located along the sides of the crew sections, and along the underside. The under side hangers were focused on troop deployment, the craft held off the floors to allow them to be dropped from the ship in low orbit. These hangers were also where the various Orbital Deployment Pods would be deployed from. The side hangers were where the ships compliment of fighters and bombers were stored, her room being very close to one of the eight hangers lining one side of the hull. Each hanger held two full squadrons, the rear two hangers on each side being devoted to heavy bombers. The particular hanger she was stepping into was housing a Trident squadron and a Tomcat squadron. The number of fighters the ship was capable of deploying was extraordinary, nearly five whole wings with seventy-two fighters a wing. As she entered the hanger from one of the ends, she realized just how long the hanger was, with three different sets of hanger doors along its length. The fighters were arranged with the Tomcats up front, the tridents behind them, and all of the craft facing the hanger doors for rapid deployment. The tomcats, although comparable to first generation Arwings in capabilities, were much larger than Cornerian fighters, almost the size of a Cornerian bomber actually. The long craft had twin engines, and two tall vertical wings, known as rudders, located to the rear of the craft and angled outward slightly. It also had to small rear elevators, or wings capable of rotating, for atmospheric flight, also located near the back of the craft, abreast with the rudders. It's twin engines, spaced almost a meter apart on the hull, were massive fusion torches, generating much more thrust than any Cornerian counter part, but the higher weight of the fighter kept that thrust from giving the craft any speed advantage over the much lighter Arwing. It also had two G-diffusers that attached to the hull like wings, just forward of half way. These G-diffusers, angled ever so slightly up, could be swept forward and back to speed and slow the craft for maneuvers, thrusters built on the leading edges of the G-diffusers controlled maneuvering the craft in space. The shape of the G-diffusers, although angular like most of the crafts hull, allowed them to be used like wings in atmosphere. Will had always told her that Tomcats were very similar to an older craft from human history, sharing the same name as the old jets, and virtually the same set up, even storing missiles on the exterior of the hull, in between the twin engines of the underside and on the mounts for the G-diffusers. Human missiles were also very different from Cornerian. Cornerian missiles were small, and although decently powered, they lacked destructive capabilities, being useful on single targets and not much else. Human missiles were much longer and larger, and required at least two people just to move the weapons. They had considerably more fire power, capable of taking down most fighters in a single shot, as well as creating destruction in a wide area. But, although deadlier, they lacked some of the technology of Cornerian missiles, being less agile and easier to shake off. Tomcats had a single rotary plasma canon. Comparatively, each shot was weaker than those of a standard Arwing cannon, but the six barrels could fire enough rounds in short bursts to still be equally effective, literally shredding unshielded craft.

Mira approached one of the fighters, almost totally ignoring the trident behind it. her always present 'escort', a soldier in full combat rattle, followed a comfortable distance away, just watching her. the Tomcat she was inspecting was sitting on three landing struts, half meter diameter tires on them. In atmosphere, it was easier to land with a more conventional runway, due to the lower tech of the fighters. It was also, as far as she could tell, fully armed with a total of ten missiles, six, crammed in two rows of three along the center and two twin racks, one on each connecter for the G-diffuser, were fairly menacing up close. She was so busy inspecting the fighter up close, that the sound of a boot striking the floor, followed by a metal clank, startled her. a pilot that she instantly recognized as Kyle had just dropped off the ladder leading to the craft's cockpit, up at the front section of the nose, again, unlike Cornerian craft.

"The hell are you doing near my bird!?" she tried to smile in the most friendly fashion to him, but his words had been laced with anger as he had spoken.

"I like ships. It's part of why I became a pilot. I thought you piloted one of those Raptor fighters?" he sighed, sitting on one of the steps to the ladder and gesturing to her.

"Yeah. lost that when I got transferred out of Razor's Edge. Not complaining about not serving with those Russian dirtbags, but I kinda miss the Raptor. Really touchy and strange to control, but boy could those girls move!" he slowly seemed to lose the anger as he spoke, clearly losing himself for a few seconds.

"Yeah, those things were really something. Hard as all hell to beat." He smirked, his eyes now focused on her.

"Well, you guys always pulled it off. They were designed to kill gen one Arwings, but the gen threes are just so god damned maneuverable. Yeah, they had nothing on the Raptors lateral capabilities, but they could stop on a dime, and they kept up as far as rolling , pitching, and ruddering goes. I'll admit, I'm shocked you and Will managed to down us in those gen twos you two flew. I thought those things weren't as maneuverable as the gen ones?" Mira nodded, feeling herself relax as he began to speak to her in more of a friendly tone. Knowing that he was Will's friend made her want to make a good impression on him.

"Well, Will just knew the 'twos like the back of his hand. he tuned both of our fighters. They may have been a little slower and less maneuverable, but the upgrades to the canons put us on par with the 'three's firepower, and he just knew how to make those things dance. Kinda rubbed off on me a bit." He smirked, his face darkening a little.

"Sorry about the way I treated you the other day. My parents were in New York when… well, you know. Gramps brought it up." She raised an eyebrow at him for a second, unsure who she was referring too. Falco had called Peppy gramps several times. She almost laughed when she realized he was talking about Will's dad.

"I know we said this but, that wasn't the CDF. The Cornerian Defense Force is really just that, a defense force. They almost never launch an attack unless there is a reason, and there was no reason for us to pick a fight with earth." He shrugged and looked away, playing with a shiny metal band on one of his fingers. "So, your married?" he nodded, a small smile slipping out.

"Yeah, her name's Ashley. Old high school friend of me and Will." Mira nodded, biting her lip as she had no idea what to say. There was silence for longer than she cared to admit, shuffling her feet several times before his voice broke the silence. "How did you and Will meet?" she smiled as memories shot through her mind at his question, more recent memories causing that smile to falter.

"We met in Star Fox, when he joined. We both flew gen two's, so he was made my wingman. We slept in the same cabin and things just…. Fell together I guess." Kyle smirked, finally kicking off of the fighter and stretching.

"Nice. You know, I'm really shocked he dated someone again after what happened with Amanda. He was in deep with her. happiest I've ever seen him was with her." Mira shrugged, starting to get annoyed at how many people compared her to Amanda. "He ever stop doing that abstinence thing?" Mira raised an eyebrow at him, eliciting a sigh from him. "refraining from sex until marriage. Religious thing, load of bullshit if you asked me, but he stuck to it. Pissed Amanda off so much some times." Mira couldn't help but be shocked at that. Part of her, whether she ever admitted it or not, thought he was afraid of making a move in that direction, because of Amanda. She had never thought he might have not wanted to by choice. She had asked him once, after their date on Corneria, only for him to just say no. she had never pressed it before or after then, just waiting for him to make a move.

"I guess he does. I mean, we haven't….." she instantly blushed, having spoken before she had thought about what she was saying. Her tail flicked several times as he chuckled at her.

"Wow, never thought I'd say this but you Cornerians are kinda cute when nervous." He winked, making her want to slug him, but settling on glaring at him. "Angry too." She groaned, covering her face as she responded.

"Great, the two of you say the same freaking thing!" he laughed starting to move across the craft and inspect it.

"Well, we've been friends since we could walk. Not surprised we do. He treat you well?" she instantly nodded, smiling.

"He jokes a lot, but he's always doing these small things for me. He tries to sneak out of bed and bring me breakfast. Always wake up when he tries." She cringed as she continued, too many memories flooding her mind at once. "But jeez, he picks on me all the time! Only person I know that knows where I'm ticklish too!" he laughed, giving one of the missiles a gentle tug as he walked by it.

"Yeah, he does that. Every relationship he's had, he finds how to push their buttons, but playfully so. Never stops talking about guns though." Mira stopped for a second, realizing that this was the second person she had met that said that about him, but could only faintly remember a handful of conversations between them on weapons, she having been the one to start.

"Did he talk to Amanda about firearms too?" he nodded, not even noticing that she wasn't walking with him anymore.

"Yeah, all the time. She was as crazy about them as he was. Why?" he glanced at her, seeming to realize something was running through her mind.

"He never does with me. Unless I bring it up." He looked shocked for a second before he shrugged, continuing his inspection.

"Well, maybe he changed? Or maybe you're just special to him. I'd have to ask him for that." She nodded before she yawned his voice causing her to wince as he spoke again. "Damn, you are really cute when you yawn too. I'd bet a thousand bucks you got a cute sneeze too, don't you?" she had to clamp her mouth shut to stop herself from speaking, almost mentioning Sauria. Just the thought of what her sneezing had caused, and his comment about it later, still embarrassed her beyond belief. He noticed the expression and smirked at her.

"Yup. Knew it. anyway, I gotta fly. Supposed to be on a patrol so you should probably get out of here. She nodded, waving good bye, to which he returned with something reminiscent of a mock salute. She rolled her eyes and made her way back to her room, surprisingly feeling a little better than she had before entering.

* * *

Krystal sighed as she walked into the main room of the Star Fox headquarters. It had been weeks since she had been here, the eerie silence within almost frightening. Bill had offered for her to continue staying at his house, but she had declined, only staying there for Mira's sake. Now that Mira was gone, she simply wanted to stay where it was familiar. She hadn't thought about how to feed herself, or how to keep up the rent for the building, but she really didn't care at that point. As she flicked the lights on, she noticed that Will's stuff had been moved, his weapons now gone, and his duffel bag now sitting by the hallway leading to the bedrooms. She hadn't known Mira had gone back here, thinking she had stuck to the carbine Krystal had pulled from storage for her. as she looked at the duffel bag, she realized it was slightly emptier than when she had seen it, guessing Mira had taken something from it. she shrugged, dropping over the back of the couch and using the controller to activate the TV. It flicked on instantly, already set on the one channel they had, CNN. It was the usual talk show they did, only they had a special guest that made Krystal's jaw drop. Peppy was sitting in a chair across from the female host, his red formal uniform crisp and new, his hat resting on his lap. He looked surprisingly well in the uniform, almost as if he belonged in it.

"So, general, now to the question we are all wondering, how is the war going?" She saw Peppy sigh, his body language alone showing how bad it was going.

"At this time, we have the advantage. Our ships are much faster, and although their vessels are physically larger and tougher, firepower is equally matched for matching ship classes, as far as forward combat is concerned. Our use of the defensive battle stations as well as our cruisers superior maneuvering capabilities are allowing us to hold the human vessels back, even as far as squeeze the occasional blockade runner free to supply aid to forces trapped elsewhere in the system. As such, the enemy has fallen back, and we seem to have arrived in a lull in the combat." The female anchor spoke, smiling.

"So our forces are doing well, even despite us no longer fielding mercenary units?" Peppy glared at her for a second, the woman having mistaken his pause as him being done speaking, something Krystal having seen Fox accidentally do a few times.

"No, they are not. We are down to thirty three cruisers and eighty-seven frigates. Our military is totally outmatched in this fight. Yes, technologically, we are superior to humanity. Our weaponry is better sustained, our ships require smaller crews, our fighters lighter and cheaper to build, but, we are not prepared for true warfare. The CDF has been training and equipping in a system where war is rare. Yes, there have been small conflicts over the past four centuries, but none of those conflicts could even come close to be being called a war. Until the Lylat wars, our ships were designed around policing pirates and terrorists, where we would have every advantage. Numbers, supplies, technology. Even in the Lylat wars, most of the combat was focused around space. And in space, we are strong. But humanity has spent the entirety of it's existence fighting itself. Their ships, their armor, their weapons, their tactics, it has been refined by centuries of conflict. Their system is virtually untapped as far as resources, and yes, they have taken losses, more than we have, but we have the home field advantage, and they are still wining. Their weapons, although primitive to us do to the lack of sustainability, requiring soldiers to be constantly refitted with more ammunition, our much more powerful than our own. Their body armor is designed against _their_ weapons, our weapons being near laughable against it. They are also a diverse fighting force. The CDF has been a united force for almost as long as we could remember. The UEC is a loose alliance. You might think this would be to our advantage, but it's really not. They have a diverse set of tactics and technologies, from high end kinetic weaponry, capable of permanently disabling shielding, to plasma weapons. From highly trained small units, coordinated with other small units, to massed charge tactics, even tactics using expendable drones to weaken our forces for follow on units. And they are fighting this war as a ground war. We never developed tactics for fighting on the ground. They have. Their troops are tougher, and better trained. Their tanks and weapons are more powerful, and they have a numerical advantage. If we had been fighting this war in the Sol system, we would have been crushed by now. the only reason we are still able to fight is the tenacity and stubbornness of our forces. And it's only a matter of time before we are defeated. We can not win this war." The anchor was stunned, so stunned that her mouth had fallen open, just staring at him in a shocked fear. "to make it worse, this… Combined arms act, has taken away our soldiers heroes. Mercenaries make warfare into an art. There are units that, how ever small, are capable enough to turn the tide of a battle, turn what would normally be a total defeat, into victory. Just knowing that someone like the Star Fox team is beside them can push soldiers to fight harder, give them a boost in morale which can sometimes be all a battle needs for it to become a victory!" Peppy was starting to get heated, Krystal nearly pumping her fist in the air to try and cheer for him. The female anchor seemed to finally catch herself, glaring at Peppy.

"And I would expect a former mercenary to say words like that. Mercenaries are liars, thieves, and murderers. They can not be 'heroes' when their only loyalty is to their next paycheck! The combined arms act protects our people from being exploited by these heathens!" Peppy clearly had to take a second to compose himself, taking a deep breath.

"If you take into account the expenses for the occasional paid for repair of the Great Fox, as well as fees and charges for her services in battles, it calculates out to spending one hundred and fifty six thousand liat a day. A single cruiser costs nearly five hundred thousand liat to maintain and sustain it every day, and scant few cruiser crews are as well-equipped and capable of turning the tide of a battle as the Star Fox team, or the Roughnecks, or the Hell's Heralds. These units were cheaper, and more talented than our own, and had been protecting soldiers' lives. Allowing them to come home. I don't know about you, but my first priority, as both a mercenary and a general, has always been to bring as many of my friends home alive. And every soldier in the CDF is one of my friends." Krystal smiled as the host's mouth opened and closed several times, clearly trying to figure out what to say to that.

"You get her peppy!" Krystal was grinning like an idiot both proud and happy that one of her oldest friends had just talked circles around one of the worst pieces of legislation she had ever heard of. Her attention got grabbed by her wrist computer ringing not recognizing the number. She muted the TV before answering, a surprisingly familiar voice popping through.

"The most beautiful creature to ever grace the stars. It is a pleasure to speak with you again, Krystal." She smirked, recognizing Panther's smooth voice.

"Panther! How did you get my number?" he purred through the speakers, sending a shiver down her spine, and not in a bad way.

"It was provided to me. A woman of your beauty should be forewarned of events to come." She raised an eyebrow, Panther continuing before she could voice her question. "McCloud is on his way to Corneria. Should be arriving tomorrow." Krystal felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest, feeling a few tears leek from her eyes, unable to stop them in her sudden happiness.

"Thank you Panther for telling me! You really are a gentlemen!" his voice came back, cutting her sudden giddiness in an instant.

"you will not like what you find when he arrives. But know that I, Panther Caruso will always be there when you have need of me." He hung up before she could respond, a small tendril of fear slowly creeping over her. What the hell did he mean by that?

* * *

"Mira, wake up!" Mira tried to cover her ears, not really recognizing the voice she just heard. She really wished it would just go away, given she was finally sleeping again. She felt someone gently shake her, the male voice returning. "Mira! Come on, you got to wake up!" she groaned, finally opening her eyes as her brain started to think, barely recognizing Vince, her eyes still bleary from sleeping. She sat up and yawned, trying to stretch out her surprisingly stiff muscles. "Finally! Come on, the Admiral wants to see us." she nodded, grabbing her equipment belt off the floor and strapping it on. She hadn't even realize that she had taken Vince's bunk earlier, only noticing just now. they stepped out of the room together, Mira still buckling the thigh holster containing Will's pistol on. A pair of soldiers from the platoon she had met were waiting outside, actually being two she recognized. One was Private First Class Gibson Jones, an orange haired green eyed human with very light skin and green eyes. He was assigned as a squad support gunner, carrying a massive squad automatic weapon, or SAW. It was feed ammunition from a two hundred round belt, or any number of round really, designed to suppress the enemy with a barrage of fully automatic fire. The other was a grenadier, Specialist David Ryan. He was carrying the normal M-32 rifle that was the standard issue of the American forces, a four power combat scope mounted on top and a forty millimeter grenade launcher attached to the underside of his weapon. They both gave them friendly waves, Ryan gesturing for them to follow them. Mira silently followed, trying to not yawn again and failing at that. She finally decided to speak after she finished yawning.

"So what does the Admiral want?" Vince smiled as he walked beside her, neither of them really noticing the dirty looks they kept getting as they passed soldiers in the hall.

"I found a spot that I am fairly certain is a staging area for a group of Andross Remnant, here, in the Sol system. I'd guess it's something to do with that." Mira smiled, leaving that as her only response. It didn't take long for them to reach the ship's tramway, taking it almost to the back of the ship. the bridge was located near the back of the vessel, above the main power plant. A quick elevator ride and they were walking toward the bridge, the group remaining silent. The bridge itself was different than what she was used to, a holo table being the first thing you encountered upon entering the chamber. Beyond it was the command chair with another holo emitter on the roof to show the captain tactical feeds during battle. The edges of the room were covered with crew stations, only a handful even being manned right now. there was a view port at the front of the bridge, but it was designed to allow the pilots to see and little else. Admiral Hawkins was standing by the Holo table, which was displaying `a red and brown planet, a few small patches of green on it. the same planet could be seen out the viewport, just a small red disk that was slowly growing. Mira instantly stepped up to the holotable, Admiral Hawkins already speaking.

"Good, you're here. As I'm sure vince already told you, we found what we think is a staging area that we want you to check out. You'll be flying there with one of my squadrons. I've had a modified eff-twenty-seven echo moved to hanger four. You both will be piloting that ship. Mira gave him a puzzled look, to which he changed the holo, bringing up an image of the fighter. It was a tomcat, although unlike the ones she had fought, it was a two seater, the central weapon mounts replaced with a long box like construction. "It's been out fitted with advanced electronic systems. Should let you scan, hack, and photo anything you find there. Vince, that's your Job. Mira, just got to get him there." Mira nodded, finally speaking.

"So where is there?" he pulled the planet back up, using his finger to expand a box over a region, which the system zoomed in on, before he did so again, a small flashing X on the terrain, situated amongst a bunch of sandy hills.

"the location is already on the B-net. I'm hoping you don't encounter resistance but that's why I'm launching Dragon squadron with you. Thirteen fighters should be more than enough to get a few recon photos and get home. You got two hours before launch. She nodded, reaching forward to interact with the map only for the entire holo to glow red, a restricted access symbol appearing. A small female figure appeared, wearing a dress uniform and with long black hair, her entire form being blue.

"You are not authorized to operate this console. St-" the admiral cut the voice off, rolling his eyes.

"Oracle, let her use it. I know she isn't human and I know that navy regulation does not allow lylatians to operate our sensitive technology, but override that." The small figure nodded as the voice returned.

"Aye aye sir." With that, the holo returned to normal, it's faint blue hue lighting up their faces.

"Well, I'm going to go find this fighter and play with it's electronics suite. Get to know my tools." Vince was turning to leave the bridge when Hawkins spoke again, aimed at him.

"The system is already translated to Cornerian for you." Vince waved his thanks and left, Mira studying the terrain around the target. There were several deep canyons in the area, as well as a single lone mountain, stretching nearly a thousand meters above the planet's surface. The entire area was the same bland red, with only a few different shades to break the monotony. No green, no silver to mark buildings, just red dirt for dozens of kilometers. "May I talk to you, miss?" Mira glanced up at him before letting her attention return to the map. She had to admit, the technology in the holotable was incredible, at least equal if not beyond Cornerian holographic tech.

"Sure, whats up Admiral? And just call me Mira. Miss makes me feel old." The Admiral smirked, crossing his arms as he watched her play with the device.

"Was he happy?" she froze, staring at him, confused. "Will I mean. Was he happy in the Lylat system?" She sighed, having no real desire to speak about Will right now. although, she couldn't blame him for wanting to know more about his son.

"Yeah. not at first though. He had nightmares for the longest time but those went away." the Admiral nodded, looking lost in thought for a while before he spoke very quietly.

"I'm sorry. Him being captured and all, it probably isn't easy." She shook her head, trying to focus on the data before her. Atmospherics read that the air across the planet was breathable, albeit very thin. But this area had yet to have gravity generators set up, leaving the gravity lighter than most sentient races liked. Corneria, earth, Katina, Fortuna and Venom all had almost identical gravity, and it had been theorized that was why sentient life had even been capable of developing. "I just wish I could talk to him. I've tried to call him a few times, but he doesn't answer, or when he does he wouldn't talk about anything beyond the mission." Mira gave up on trying to focus on the map, facing Hawkins instead.

"Well, you did disown him just because he didn't want to be a pilot. You cant have expected him to just welcome you back like nothing happened." The admiral nodded, Mira just about to return to the tactical data when he spoke again.

"Does he still pray?" Mira shook her head, remembering what he had said about religion when Krystal had asked for help.

"No. he doesn't. why does that matter?" Hawkins shrugged, the movement so eerily familiar that it made Mira shiver a little.

"He used to a lot." Silence fell between them again, Mira turning around and leaning up against the table, a small sigh slipping out of her mouth. They stayed that way for far longer than even Mira thought, Mira starting to get very uncomfortable with the silence. She made a move to leave the bridge when his voice stopped her. "Mira, what ever you do after you find him, don't break his heart, and don't give up on him. he likes to keep people at arms length, never letting them get close. He learned to from me. So whatever you do, don't give up on him." she nodded, walking backwards to speak to him as she left.

"I know. You don't need to tell me that." With that, she turned and left the bridge, not looking back.


	19. Homecoming

Krystal moved toward the private section of the spaceport, practically bouncing with excitement. She had been called a few minutes ago by Sheila, telling her to meet them at the spaceport. And although Krystal was excited to see Fox again, something about the somber tone Sheila had used, along with Panther's warning, had her very worried and honestly scared. Her mind kept racing through the possibilities, from Fox hating her for something, to even Fox being dead, given he hadn't said a word to her since the call a week ago. the space port was virtually empty, just a few guards, Krystal being the only one waiting in the terminal. She couldn't help but pace back and forth as the mixture between fear and excitement seemed to energize her.

"Krystal?!" the shocked, almost fear filled shout froze Krystal, the voice being absolutely impossible for Krystal to mistake. She turned toward the direction the shout had come from, the tramway leading to one of the more far out landing sites having just arrived. Fox had just left one of the doors, followed by Lou, Sheila, Derrick and Sabrina, the last of that bunch on crutches. The sight of Fox, sitting in a wheelchair, froze her on the spot. Her mind could barely comprehend what she was seeing, completely unsure of what to do. In this moment of shock, her mind slipped into his, recognizing the feeling of paralysis, having met several paralyzed veterans in the past. She just stood there, blinking several times, unable to comprehend what she was seeing or feeling as he rolled his way toward her. out of all of the wild and spectacular tales her mind had come up with in her worry, not one of them had he been paralyzed. He stopped just a few feet in front of her, his eyes filled with tears. She could easily feel that he hadn't wanted to see her. she didn't let herself delve into why, part of her wanting to actually ask him. "Krystal, what are you doing here?" his voice was quiet, pained. She closed her eyes, trying to stop feeling what he was feeling. She knew the way his body felt by heart, having been around him so much in the past. Feeling the pain he was feeling, the lack of feeling in his legs, the defeated feeling he had, she didn't want to feel that. Not from him, someone that she always knew as strong and determined.

"I…. Fox…. What happened." She opened her eyes as she finally spoke, not looking at him. but she still felt him look away, a small inaudible sigh slipping out of his mouth.

"Midnight shot me. Took out a whole team of Ramirez's men and used their weapons on us. it….. it was on my birthday." She barely noticed as the others passed them, trying to give the two of them room. Tears were starting to stream down her face too.

"Fox….. I'm so sorry." She felt Fox's desire to hug her, and the anguish that followed knowing he couldn't do so. She quickly took a step forward, stooping over so she could hug him, feeling his arms wrap around her the second she was close to him. he was crying into her shoulder, not even realizing that she was crying into his. They stayed like this for longer than either cared, trying to find comfort in each other, and only finding more suffering. She finally let go of him, sniffing as she tried to fight her tears away. no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get herself to stop feeling him. he gulped, his eyes closed, his entire body quivering. She could feel the fear radiating off of him, a feeling that was making her sick. Out of all of the people in her life, he was the one that she never wanted to feel afraid.

"Krystal… I'm sorry. For… for leaving you here, for treating you as I did….. for…" she could feel more tears gushing out of him as a new wave of anguish washed over the vulpine, a different kind, far more powerful than what she had been feeling.

"Fox, stop. It's in the past, and I deserved it. I should have trusted you more and I didn't. I know why Will didn't want me to know about Mira. I know how badly you want to protect me. Just, forget it okay? I already have." He nodded, Krystal finally managing to look at him. "Come on. Lets get you home. I cleaned up the H-Q last night." He shook his head, taking a breath to settle himself.

"No. We are going to the hospital. Sheila thinks there may be a chance to repair the damage. I'm taking it. you don't have too…." She cut him off, knowing exactly what he was going to say.

"No Fox, I'm staying with you, and that's final. Okay?" he nodded, Krystal feeling the small glimmer of hope he was feeling, as well as how much what she just said was helping him. it brought a smile to her face, however small it was. She didn't let him wheel himself from the terminal, getting behind the wheel chair and pushing him out.

* * *

Miyu's mouth fell open of it's own accord as she walked into the apartments, the first time she had since the attack. No one had been there, following Wolf's advice and staying away since the attack. The food that they had worked hard to prepare was scattered around the room, blasted there by blaster bolts. It was starting to rot, filling the room with an awful stench. The cake was splattered across almost the entire room, bits of its marbled pastry blasted apart by a single plasma blast. The walls were covered in blackened blast marks, a couple showing signs of having been on fire at some point. Right in front of the entrance, where fox had been standing, the floor was now a rusty color, patches of dark red marking spots of Fox's blood that was still drying. The red pool kept her attention as she moved into the building, only there to retrieve supplies and clothing of hers. The others had done so earlier, two full platoons of infantry from the Texas keeping the area secure while they did so. She barely noticed the tears slipping down her face as she finally managed to step out of the room, quivering. _Why did Midnight have to attack that night? Everything had been going perfectly, we were finally going to be able to relax a little_! She closed her eyes, trying to force those thoughts away. it didn't take her long to gather her clothes and throw them in a small sports bag, not really having much. She was on her way out when she noticed the door to Wolf's room cracked open she slipped inside, seeing a small picture frame on the desk, face down. She picked it up, turning it to where it was facing her. In it was a picture of Wolf and Fara, both looking like they had been laughing. He had one of his arms around her, and they were clearly on a ship, a viewport behind them showing a star field. She sighed, knowing Wolf had likely left the photo behind for a reason. She was setting the photo down when her finger brushed across something on the frame, causing her to take a second look. A small rectangular section was loose on the small frame, almost like a slit had been cut in the wood and something jammed into it. it took her a second to wiggle the object out, discovering a small data card in it. curious, she slipped the card into her wrist computer, finding seven or so files, each marked with a date, and labeled as 'final words'. She selected the latest one, seeing that it was only a couple of days before Fara had disappeared. It turned out to be a video file, Miyu hitting play as soon as it popped up. An image of Fara appeared, sitting in the very desk the picture had been on. She sighed on the video, looking away for a few seconds before she spoke.

 _"Wolf, I have something I…. something I want to tell you. I've known for a couple of months now, just haven't been able to find the words. I'm leaving this in case I don't get the chance too."_ The image of Fara closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing. Meanwhile, Miyu let herself drop onto the bed. _"Wolf… I'm pregnant. I've been trying to hide it, because of the war and all. I didn't want it distracting you. It's starting to get harder to hide. Katt figured it out, but I made her swear not to tell anyone. I'm not ashamed or anything, honestly, I couldn't be happier. You might need a little shining up, but you'll make a great father Wolf. I'm just… I'm scared to tell you. I don't want to lose you, and I feel like this is something that would make you unfocused. Hell maybe even cause you to make some stupid mistake trying to protect me, not that I would blame you or anything. I just… god this is hard. Wolf, you mean the world to me. I cant imagine what life would be like without you. You act like I saved you that day, over the Aparoid homeworld, but the truth is, you saved me. I felt so lost at that point of my life and you gave me a purpose. I hope that you never have to see this video but, in the case that you do, remember, I loved you to the very end. And I will never stop loving you, okay? Good bye Wolf."_ The clip ended, Miyu finding herself stunned. She fell back on the bed, her mind racing at what she had just seen. _I have to show this to Wolf. He needs to know_ _._ She quickly stood, grabbing her bag off the floor and rushing out. Wolf was outside, supposed to be waiting in a human armored vehicle, a four doored beast with massive tires, the top of the chassis nearly twelve feet in the air. It had a turret up in the top, a gunner on the turret scanning for any signs of a threat. Wolf, as she quickly discovered, was standing outside the vehicle, talking with a human lieutenant in charge of one of the security platoons. She rushed over to him the second she saw him, trying to swallow down the fear building up in her heart. She had no idea how Wolf was about to react, but she couldn't just not tell him. he glanced up as she approached, raising an eyebrow at her.

"All finished squirt?" she rolled her eyes at his little nick name, her being the youngest person to be with their little group.

"Wolf…. I um, I found something you need to see." His eyebrow went up further as she pulled the storage chip from her computer, handing it to him. the Lieutenant left them alone as he slipped it into his own computer. He looked utterly confused as he saw the files on it. he opened the same one she had just seen, his confused face falling, tears slipping out of his eye. As he watched, his free hand covered his mouth. She could tell he was shaking as the video finished, seeing him walk a few steps away, his hands on his head. He spoke suddenly, almost to quietly to be heard.

"Where did you find this?" his voice wasn't angry, like she had expected, but filled with pain. She wasn't used to hearing his voice like this almost thinking she had imagined it.

"It was in a picture frame, of the two of you. She had cut a slit in the frame and put the drive there." He turned to her and nodded, gulping several times before he looked her in the eyes, his face becoming like steel.

"You tell anyone, and I will kill you. Understood?" she nodded, oddly not afraid of his threat. His face softened a tad as he began to walk toward the vehicle, stopping for a second while he passed her. "And thank you. I'll make sure that whoever killed her gets what he deserves." Miyu nodded, following him as they boarded the vehicle, a radio call causing the infantry dismounts all around the compound to mount back up, the convoy leaving the area.

* * *

Fox took a deep breath as he sat in the wheel chair, his eyes closed, just outside of Gerald's medical center. It was known as one of the best centers on injuries to one's nervous system and paralysis. Krystal was the only one with him, by his request. He had asked that the others go back out to help Wolf, but they had insisted on staying on Corneria with him, taking Sabrina to a general hospital to get her leg looked at. Fox finally opened his eyes, staring at the pristine three story building, fear filling him. he felt Krystal gently squeeze his shoulder with her good hand, giving him a small bit of reassurance. He nodded, letting her know that he was ready. She pushed him into the building, the waiting area only having a handful of people. The receptionist, a black brown and white canine, smiled to them as they approached, speaking as soon as they were close enough.

"Hello, do you have an appointment with us?" Fox shook his head, opening his mouth to speak only to find that his voice had stopped working. Krystal ended up speaking for him.

"No, he doesn't. he honestly just arrived on Corneria today. He was… injured on mecbeth a few days ago." she gave them a puzzled expression, just before focusing her attention on her computer.

"Has he been to a hospital?" Krystal shook her head, the receptionist stopping when Fox managed to speak.

"I was seen by a ships physician after the injury occurred, I have the files right here. They didn't have the equipment to do anything. Please the sooner you can get an appointment, the better." She smiled again, typing on her computer again.

"Well, you happen to be in luck, Doctor Townsend just had a patient cancel a few minutes ago. he's free right now." Fox exchanged a shocked glance with Krystal, about to respond when a familiar voice spoke, both of them looking to the door leading deeper into the building. The familiar brown and black floppy skinned canine had just come through the door, staring at the two of them, shocked.

"Fox?! Krystal? What happened!?" he rushed forward, the receptionist staring at them, shocked. "Kate, I'm taking these two back right now. mark him as a John Doe, sealed file please." She nodded, still looking confused as Fox fished out an old fashioned paper file. Townsend opened it, raising an eyebrow at it. "This is written in a human language?" Fox nodded and he shrugged it off, gesturing at them to follow. Fox moved to start wheeling after him, only for krystal to start pushing his chair. Townsend on the other hand, had opened an app on his wrist computer, letting him translate the file into Cornerian.

"Alright, by this file, they were unable to do anything but stop hemorrhaging. Not surprising, human medical tech is low, especially when it comes to nervous system damage. Step one is to try to repair the damage, but it may already be too late." Fox nodded, knowing he wouldn't see it. he lead them through several different hallways, ending at one labeled 'Trauma Ward', where he led them into one of the rooms. A pair of techs were waiting for him, helping Fox climb onto what seemed like an operating table, Fox lying in a sunken portion. Krystal had backed off into a corner of the room as Townsend slid a see through screen away from the wall, it being mounted on a mechanical arm. The two techs quickly removed his shirt and pants as a flat blue light projected off the ceiling, running over his entire body, top to bottom, before scanning side to side. His stomach was covered in bandages, tinged slightly red almost dead center of his gut. "Cut the bandage off. Something is interfering with the scanner." The techs nodded, Fox hearing Krystal's sharp intake of breath as the bandage came off, showing the section of brunt flesh around a small hole in his gut, sewn shut. The scanner ran again, Townsend cursing. "Get me a molecular extractor. There are traces of depleted uranium in the wound, scattering the scanner." One of the techs rushed out, returning very quickly with a small device. Townsend set the device on Fox's gut, typing a few commands into it before he spoke to fox. "I'm sorry fox, this will hurt." Fox nodded, clenching his fists as he tried to mentally prepare for what was to come. But no amount of preparing could have readied him for the sudden agony that was ripping through him, as if someone was shooting him with a beam weapon. Fox screamed, the two techs restraining him until the pain subsided. Townsend picked up the tool, which had a small chunk of shiny dark grey metal stuck to it, smaller than the tip of Fox's pinky. Another scan was run, Townsend reading the results before sighing. "Your T-twelve vertebra is totally shattered, your spinal column completely severed. There is damage to your T-eleven and L-one vertebra as well, mostly burns and cracks. I'll have to use a laser scalpel on the destroyed and damage tissue, and completely remove the damaged vertebra. The tissue printer should be able to reconstruct your spine but the damage to your nervous system may be permanent. If you had gotten here immediately after the injury, twenty four hours tops, I could have fully reconstructed your spine. As it stands, your body has already started to try to heal, sealing those connections. I'll do my best but, at most, you'll get feeling back, nothing more." Fox nodded, unable to find any words. "I'm sorry Fox. I'll do what I can now, and I'll ask around to see if anyone has any ideas, but this is likely the end of you ever walking. I'm going to put you under now, Krystal, please wait outside, okay?" Fox saw Krystal nod as she stepped forward, suddenly leaning forward and kissing Fox, her hands holding the sides of his head. Fox instantly returned the notion, using his own hands pull her deeper into the kiss, so startled by the sudden action that he didn't even notice the needle go into his arm, or himself losing consciousness.


	20. Welcome to Mars

Mira fought with the unfamiliar straps in the fighter's pilot seat, nearly cursing before she finally got them hooked together. She felt odd, wearing a human flight suit, complete with a hole ripped in it for her tail and pressurized air bags applying pressure to keep her blood in her core. It wasn't the most comfortable experience, wearing an old fashioned G-suit, but human inertial compensators weren't as reliable as Cornerian. And a large portion of older Cornerian craft also required the pilot to wear a G-suit, fighter sized inertial compensators having only recently advanced to the point they were at. Originally, they only kept the craft on course, unable to help the pilot from the effects inertia would have on him. newer compensators, like those in her Arwing, could counter the effects of inertia on the pilot, allowing the craft to be able to maneuver at it's peak without the pilot blacking out. She quickly started the fighter up, frowning at the terribly translated Cornerian. The fighter had three screens, one dead center of the control board, with unmarked keys along the sides of the screen to operate functions, and two smaller screens on the left and right. Both showed circular RADAR screens, which somewhat confused her. it took her several minutes for her to reset the computer, having an easier time reading the English over the terribly translated Cornerian. After she did so, she fired up the engines, running through the different diagnostics using the main screen. Everything came up as good, allowing her to finally don her helmet. One of the other things she wasn't liking about human fighters was that you would be ejected straight into space, the canopy of the craft blasting off, unlike Cornerian, where the whole cockpit was an escape pod. Yes, in atmosphere, the system would eject the pilot the same as a human craft, but that was to help protect the pilot, it being a lot easier to land a pilot with a parachute than an escape capsule. Her helmet was modified from the wide clear visored human helmet, which normally wouldn't let her fit her muzzle in it, into a clam shelled version of it that the clear polymer had been reshaped to let her muzzle be in the helmet. So instead of just slipping the helmet on, like Will and other human pilots did, she had to shove her ears down and clamp the faceplate shut. She and Vince had identical helmets, designed for Vince's longer muzzle, so that left Mira with a good four inches of free space in front of her muzzle. She sighed as she hooked up the life support and heads up display cord into the back of her helmet, already not liking the way it felt.

"Hey, are you ready up there Mira?" she glanced behind her, realizing that she couldn't see vince past the back of her seat.

"Yeah, what about you old man?" she heard him groan as the long canopy began to close over them.

"I know I'm in my fifties, but don't call me old. I sure as hell don't feel it. and I'm having second thoughts about this." Mira grunted and rolled her eyes, trying to shift so that her rifle wasn't digging into her shoulder blade. She had grabbed Will's rifle and set it beside the seat, strapping his tactical vest on over the flight suit. It was far from comfortable, but it would let her defend herself should they end up on the ground for some reason or another.

"Dragon six to all planes, report in!" she had learned that human fighter squadrons were a little different than Cornerian. Cornerian squadrons, the commander flew in the squadron as the lead plane. Human, the commander stayed back at their home base, feeding tactical data to them and keeping the three flights in coordination. In practice, the second in command actually lead the squadron as the number one plane, so that if contact was lost with the commanding officer, the second in command could take over on site. The pilots all reported in, one at a time starting with Dragon 1-1 through 1-4, followed by 2-1 through 2-4, ending with third flight, called off the same way. She had learned that this was the squadron Kyle had been reassigned to, being the second in command of the squadron. Finally, the last of the squadron reported as ready, leaving her, as simply an attaché to the unit.

"This is Charlie one, all systems green, ready to tango." Charlie one was the callsign she had been told to use, Charlie two being Vince. One of the pilots had explained that Charlie was the military phonetic version of the letter C, chosen as a representation of them as they were from Corneria.

"Dragon six to all planes, you are cleared for launch. Come home in one piece gentlemen." She didn't listen to the responses, griping the collective beside her seat and gently pulling it up. Thrusters on the bottom of the craft pushed the fighter off the deck plating, a slight pressure pushing against her hand, as the collective was spring loaded to stay in the center of it's slider, down allowing the pilot to move the craft downwards. Gravity in the hanger had been disabled after they had finished checking in, allowing the craft to deploy without any hassle. The hanger doors in front of her opened as she watched, only able to really see the bottom of the Lincoln's wings through them. The tomcat in front of her, Dragon one-one, or Kyle's craft, slipped out of the hanger, clearing the way for her fighter to gently leave the hanger. She quickly found herself in the middle of three flights of craft. This allowed her to see why there were two RADAR screens, one showing the forward one eighty arc, the other showing the rear. She smiled at that, realizing that was going to make tracking enemy and friendly fighters all the easier. The radio fell into silence as they raced toward the planet, it already dominating most of their view. Vince's voice broke the silence, his voice echoing in her ear piece as well as in the cockpit.

"Uh, guys, we got ships approaching. Upper atmo, heading our way. Look like venom interceptors. Cant tell the model." Mira stared at her sensor board for a second, not seeing them. Then she realized that he likely could detect craft at much larger range.

"Charlie two, this is Dragon one one. How far, how many, and do you think they have noticed us." she fiddled with the nobs by her scanners, discovering a way to zoom them out, seeing that the craft were nearly eighty kilometers away, that distance shrinking rapidly.

"Uh, sixty plus Kilometers, twenty-four craft, and they are on a direct intercept course!" she could hear that he was starting to panic.

"Alright, Dragon three, break vertical, kill thrust at twenty clicks. Dragon two, break right, increase speed, try to get behind their formation. Dragon one, prep missiles and prepare for a head to head. Charlie, hang back and stay out of this fight." Mira groaned but complied, dropping her throttle to zero and letting the fighter drift to a stop. She watched as the three flights raced ahead of her, already spread across multiple kilometers. The enemy fighters broke into two groups, full squadrons. One aimed at the flanking flight, the other toward Dragon one. They seemed to be ignoring Dragon three and herself. "Perfect! Dragon three, accelerate and prepare to engage as soon as the head to head happens. Engage electronic countermeasures, full spectrum." Suddenly, her HUD and electronics went on the fritz, shocked. She saw streaks of light as the lead flights fired missiles, watching as they flashed into explosions. Although not as large or spectacular as a Nova Bombs, the missiles each took at least two craft with them, nearly wiping out the two squadrons in a single volley. This followed up by streams of rapid cannon fire forced the craft to juke and weave, unable to fire back on the Tomcats. The third flight engaged the survivors of the first squadron. They were obliterated by the four missiles, unable to even detect the rounds under the interference. The final squadron, already chewed down to seven planes by second flight, who seemed to simply be focusing on harassment and annoyance rather than direct engagement. The other two flights moved to engage them, not even bothering with missiles this time. Every single fighter was engaged by a pair of ships instead of a one on one fight, even with the Tomcat's now superior numbers. She noticed something beyond them, almost like a glimmer of movement against the back drop of the planet.

"Dragon One-one, this is Charlie one, drop the counter measures. I got a bad feeling." The radio instantly buzzed back at her.

"Roger that Charlie one. You heard the lady, drop the shroud." Her systems instantly stopped freaking out, to discover that there was another full squadron of craft on their way.

"Uh, Mira, those are not strike fighters! i… I don't know what those are!" her main display suddenly changed, showing an image Vince was likely projecting. They looked much like Wolfens, if you had added a second engine, cut off the topside G-Diffuser, replaced the standard cannons with two long barreled weapons nearly reaching the nose, and filled the space between the normally split nose design with a missile pod. These fighters were painted jet black, save for the four wings remaining a silvery grey.

"One-one to all elements, prepare to engage. Do not attempt to engage alone, stick to your wingmates, cover each other!" the enemy flight was already just out of combat range of the Dragons, most of the Tomcats, still turning to engage when the enemy began firing missiles. She watched as one of the Tomcats couldn't avoid a missile, his fighter blown in half along the centerline, the aft section still powered. This put space between the aft and fore portions when the aft detonated, the fore undamaged from the blast. Mira reacted on instinct alone, ramming her throttle forward. Another one of the Tomcats was already in trouble as she approached, aiming herself toward his pursuer. She was coming in almost from in front of the enemy craft, causing her to spray a burst of cannon fire instead of trying to just distract the enemy craft. Too late, as a pair of brilliant red bolts ripped from the enemy fighter, tearing into the Tomcat. The friendly fighter ceased to exist, replaced by an explosion. Her silvery blue bolts flared the enemy's shields, but not much else. Thankfully, she had remembered a simple rule that both Fox and Will had taught her. always plan ahead, never expect your first shot to kill. As such, she had rolled her craft to allow her to simply pitch the nose, using her G-diffusers to slow the ship and turn faster, and she was hot on the enemy fighter's tail. Her next burst from the cannon showed better results, the enemy fighters shields dropping out and several shots striking the ship, two lancing through a G-diffuser, one going straight into the craft's engine, and another getting a money shot, tearing into the canopy. Another of the craft was dropping onto her tail, Mira already reacting. She pitched, rolled completely over, and pitched up again, slamming on both rudder pedals for a second to tighten the turn. As she did so, she set a proximity detonator on one of her missiles, waiting deploying it. just after she did, she rolled roughly forty degrees and pitched. Her fighter was rocked as the weapon detonated, the blip behind her fracturing apart and turning white on the display. She smirked, turning to go after another fighter when she lurched in her seat, a Tomcat streaking past way closer than she was comfortable. "Charlie One! Pull back! Now!" she ignored Kyle's shout, diving after another fighter, pelting it's shield's for a second before a shot glanced off hers, forcing her to peel off. She could hear vince whimpering behind her, utterly terrified. She kept juking and dodging, seeing the brilliant red blasts from the enemy's weapons whip by her canopy, lighting up the cockpit. Her muscles were slowly stiffening, every movement of the control yoke and rudders becoming increasingly more painful and difficult. The blip suddenly disappeared, Mira looking at her scanners to find there were no more enemies in the area. She breathed a sigh of relief before she flicked her radio off, only speaking to Vince.

"You can look now. Dogfight's over." She heard him have an equally relieved sigh as she brought the ship around, back on course to their destination.

"All remaining Dragon members, reform around Charlie one, diamond formation. Dragon three, leave one of your birds to cover pilot recovery." Kyle spoke with a sort of authority she wasn't used to, having only ever heard his friendly banter with Will before now. "Charlie one, I know you know how to fly, but you pull that shit again and I will shoot you down myself. You are not to engage unless I tell you to do so. Roger?" she rolled her eyes as the seven remaining Tomcats formed up around her.

"Lieutenant, you can shove that shit right back up the hole it came out of. If I see a chance to save lives, I'm taking it. got it?" she heard a few chuckles over the radio at her response, being able to picture him grinding his teeth.

"No wonder you and Will got along so well. You're as stubborn as he is….." Kyle's muttered words were barely distinguishable from the static on their radio system. "Alright folks, heads on swivels, fingers on triggers. We still have a job to do."

* * *

Sheila smirked as she stepped into the recovery room, leaning on the wall as she watched Krystal and Fox. It had been nearly twelve hours since Krystal had told Sheila that he was going into surgery. She knew from Krystal's second text that he had been in surgery for nearly six hours. By the view she had now, he was still out from whatever meds they used to knock him out. Krystal had pulled a chair over to the bed to sit with him, and had ended up falling asleep with her head resting on one of his arms, her fingers still loosely intertwined with his. Sheila had known what their relationship had gone through, Mira having told her before the incident with Midnight. And whether she really knew Fox or not, she was happy that things seemed to be looking up for them. Fox had saved her tail after all, all the way back in the Lylat wars, and herself and Krystal had several good conversations too. She was turning to leave when a groggy groan slipped out of Fox's muzzle, Sheila glancing back to see his eyes slowly opening.

"Morning sleepy head. You got a visitor." She saw his smirk, his emerald green eyes flicking across Krystal before resettling on Sheila.

"I can feel that. Krystal tell you how the surgery went?" Sheila shook her head, earning a sigh from Fox. "How about Sabrina. She seems nice enough, she gonna be okay?" Sheila instantly nodded, smiling.

"Yeah. hour or so in a tissue printer, couple days rest, and she'll be as good as new." Fox smiled, the hand Krystal was holding giving her a gentle squeeze. Fox rolled his eyes before starting to struggle his way up, clearly weak from the surgery, and Krystal's head was clearly of no help. A small grumble slipped out of her mouth, Sheila barely catching it.

"Foooox please don't gooo. Cant we sleep in a little longer?" Fox rolled his eyes at the sleeping vixen, managing to give her a gentle shake, to which she finally seemed to be waking up from. She tiredly smiled at him, her eyes half open.

"Good After noon Krystal. Enjoying your nap?" she nodded, sitting up in her chair, but her hand never left his.

"Yeah. I was dreaming about you Fox." She didn't seem to have noticed that Sheila was in the room, just silently watching on. Fox rolled his eyes at her as she yawned, still swaying back and forth a little, clearly not totally awake.

"What did Doc say when I came out?" Krystal shook her head once, sending some of her hair whipping about, clearly trying to wake up a little more.

"Well the damage was mostly fixed, as far as your bones go. He said the spinal cord has been mended but the connection was lost. He compared it to a wireless signal that cant re-sync anymore. You should have some feeling in your legs but he doesn't think you will ever be able to control them again. I'm sorry Fox." Fox nodded, looking away from all of them. The mood in the room completely dropped out, no one wanting to speak.

"Am I allowed to leave?" Krystal shook her head, speaking as she did so.

"No. Doc says he wants you spending the night, so he can make sure the printed tissue bonds properly." Fox nodded, even Sheila being able to tell he was having one hell of an internal struggle. He probably had no idea of what he was going to do from here on, his entire life having revolved around flying, something he could no longer do. She couldn't even imagine how down he was probably feeling. "Fox…. I'm not leaving you, okay? If there is a way to fix you, I will help you find it. if there isn't, I still wont leave your side. Okay?" Fox nodded again, still not looking at either of them. Krystal sighed, seeming to finally notice that Sheila was standing there, startling slightly. "Oh, Sheila? When did you get here?" Sheila smirked, leaning up against one of the walls.

"A While ago. before you woke up, actually." Krystal managed a thin chuckle, but it brought a frown the Sheila's face. It wasn't hard to tell that it was forced.

"Wow, i cant believe I didn't notice you." Sheila shrugged, gesturing toward the door.

"Well, I'm gonna go. Take care you two." they waved good bye as she stepped out of the room, disappearing into the halls of the medical center.


	21. Preparation

Vince death gripped the sides of his seat as the fighter lurched, another explosion reverberating through the hull.

"Damn it! well there is definitely a base here! God damn this is a lot of triple A!" he heard Mira speaking through her radio, not really seeing what was going on around him, namely because his eyes were sealed shut, muttering to himself that things were going to be alright. "Vince, are we close enough to get a scan!?" he managed to wretch his eyes open as he was slammed into the side of his seat, the view out the canopy spinning. He quickly tapped a few commands into the computer, missing a few keys.

"Ye-ah, just hold her steady, I cant get good images!" he heard her growl over the radio, gulping as she began to shout at him.

"Damnit vince! We are being shot at! I cant hold her steady! Man the fuck up and figure it out!" he was shocked, having never heard her angry. Oddly enough, it seemed that the sweetest kindest people always seemed to be the scariest when angry. He shook off his thoughts, trying to focus on gathering intel. There were no wireless networks for him to intrude on, their battle net had corporate grade encryption, best off the market in fact, and the best images he could get, even with the stabilizers built into the camera system, were blurred and messed up.

"I cant get anything Mira! This system isn't on par with Cornerian, it cant handle the maneuvers you are pulling!" he heard her groan.

"Alright, hang on things are gonna get…." There was another jerk from the fighter beneath him, causing him to snap another blurry photo of the sky.

"Bumpy?" he heard her half hearted laugh, causing him to gulp.

"No… no more like crashy. Hang on!" he death gripped the sides of his seat again as it seemed to drop out from beneath him. he screamed as his brain finally realized that they were diving straight down, the ground ripping toward them at an incredible rate. But even at the shear speed they were moving, Mira managed to pull them out of the dive, mere feet above the ground. His fingers flew into action, adjusting the camera and snapping as many photos as he could as they raced past. Most of the pictures had a slight blur to them, but could still be made out. His gut attempted to leave his body as the ship ripped upwards, ducking and weaving through the thick anti-air fire. The ship rocked as one of the rounds connected, a small scream ripping out of Vince. "Shesh, cut that crap out Vince! This fighter is already loud enough without you screeching in my ear every five seconds!" her voice dropped off for a second, now being broadcast over the squadron net.

"Charlie one to Dragon six. Mission accomplished." The unit commander's voice rang out over the comm net, vince breathing a sigh of relief as they left the range of the Anti-air fire, heading up toward space.

"Dragon Six to all planes. Pilot recovery operations complete. Dragon three-four is K-I-A. I'm sorry folks. Come on home. Dragon Six out." Vince watched as the eight remaining fighters of Dragon flight formed back around them, the thin atmosphere of Mars slowly fading into the almost comforting black starfield of space. It didn't take them long to link back up with the Lincoln, slipping back into the hanger they had launched from. All they way, he noticed the way the craft seemed to dip and drift for no reason. It was much more pronounced as Mira piloted them into the hanger, setting the fighter down on the deck with ear splitting crunch, leaving the fighter canted to one side.

"Damn it, I was hoping the damage wasn't that bad. Definitely not as tough as an Arwing." He barely payed attention to her voice as he unclipped the harness for his seat, the canopy opening as she began powering the fighter down. One of the techs had pushed a ladder up to the craft, vince nearly fall off of it as he shakily made his way down. Mira was making her own way down, wincing as she dropped the last foot or so. She was massaging her forearm as she stumbled slightly, clearly having some trouble walking.

"You okay Mira?" she shook her head, making her way to the underside of the fighter to inspect the damage. He followed her only to discover a large blackened hole in one of the engines. The burn around the hole seared and warped the metal hull several feet behind it, marking the angle the shot had hit at.

"Damn, they nailed us good. I guess for not having the armor of an Arwing, these things are pretty sturdy." A third voice joined them after Mira spoke, drawing both of their attention.

"Yeah. Tomcats are well renowned for their sturdy hull design. They'll keep together under some nasty fire, even with their low armor. unlike your Arwing. Too small, systems aren't as redundant. So thicker armor, but easier to kill if you can punch through that armor." Kyle was clanking his way over to them, smirking.

"Goo…good to know. God I have a killer head ache now!" Kyle gave her a worried look as she swayed on her feet, eyes closed with a hand pressed against her head.

"something wrong? are you sick?!" he danced a few steps away, looking even more worried.

"No, she's just suffering from Apoptosis poisoning. It's a mineral. Sort of." Kyle glanced at him, smirking as he relaxed.

"Alright Whitey. Why are you still wearing your dome piece?" Vince suddenly panicked, realizing he hadn't taken his helmet off. His hands flew to the sides of the helmet, trying to tug it off, only to remember the latches. "Here, dufas." He was struggling with the latches when his hands were brushed aside, Kyle quickly opening the helmet for him, which he quickly tugged off.

"I just forgot I was wearing it okay!?" Mira burst out laughing, Kyle chuckling slightly with her as she spoke, smiling.

"I was wondering when you would finally take that stupid thing off! Vince, you have a beautiful brain. Just keep it behind a desk." She was still chuckling, Vince glaring at her.

"With pleasure!" his voice, much to his ire and his compatriots delight, rose several octaves as he spoke.

"I mean, you should have heard him! he was freaking out over every single maneuver! Got quite distracting out there! All that intellect, and he's just a big baby!" she winked at him, gently punching his shoulder, to which he simply glared at her.

"Well, I'm going to get this data to gramps. He is probably already got some plan or another cooked up. In the mean time, Mira, find yourself a Tomcat. I'm down a pilot. Mind covering the hole?" she nodded and he glanced over at the rest of his pilots, a small sigh slipping out of him. "May he rest in peace." His small mutter was the last either of them heard, as he instantly turned and moved under the tomcat, yanking the data box from the fighter before striding off. Mira shortly followed him, Vince deciding to follow her, ending up at their room. She was already in her bunk, fast asleep. Vince sighed, pulling some clothes from his bag before stepping into the bathroom to change and follow suite.

* * *

Admiral Hawkins looked up as there was a knock on his door. He tapped the button on his holo computer to unlock the door, watching as Kyle stepped in, dropping into one of the seats without saying a word. They both remained silent for a while, just staring at each other, before Kyle finally spoke.

"you really believe this war wasn't started by Corneria?" the admiral nodded, still remaining silent. "Getting harder to say you are just being senile old man. A full blown base on Mars filled with Andross remnant tech….. it's….. well, it doesn't sound like their usual MO. Got a guess as to why they are here?" the admiral shook his head, a small sigh slipping out of Kyle.

"I was hoping we could find that out. As you saw for yourself, this isn't CDF. Besides, I doubt they could have gated troops in without us noticing, or snuck past our blockade. How much did we get on that fly by?" Kyle shrugged, playing with a loose thread on his flight suit.

"Not much. Mostly pictures. Got about twenty some odd air defense cannons, at least a battalion of troops, maybe more. Plenty of armor support and they are dug in like ticks. I'm shocked the furry managed to get down there and back without losing a ship."

"She's a member of Star Fox Kyle. You fought them. That should tell you how." Kyle smirked at his words, leaning forward as his face assumed a more curious expression.

"About that, what happened to Star Fox? I heard they took part in the initial invasion of Katina, and saw, but after that, they disappeared from the radar?" Admiral Hawkins quickly typed a few commands into his computer, pulling up several month old reports.

"Politics. Government shut down the use of Mercs, made it illegal to be a merc. So Star Fox disbanded, officially speaking. I'm forwarding you all of the Lylat reports from Captain Ramirez now. your eyes only, got it?" he nodded as the Admiral hit the send button on the documents, silence falling between them again. "So what do you think of her?" Kyle glanced at him, a knowing smirk on his face.

"She's got a good heart, and is stubborn as a mule, just like him. Not shocked those two get along. More I talk to her, more I realize she's perfect for him. better than Amanda was actually. she has the same habit of picking on people, but being there for them when shit hits the fan. Plus, honestly, I feel sorry for whatever bastard gets between her and finding him. she'd wipe my ass tomcat on tomcat. Plus, she learned his fucking language for crying out loud! Talk about dedication!" the admiral chuckled, leaning back in his chair and clasping his hands together.

"Glad you like her. I'm going to need Dragon squadron again. They going to be ready?" he nodded, holding up a data chip.

"As soon as you approve this, yes. I need four new ships. Mira is going to fly as Dragon three-four for now."

"I'm sorry about your pilot too. I heard the body couldn't be recovered." Kyle looked away and sighed, his voice quiet when he responded.

"Yeah. I'm going to tell the family that we buried him at sea. Why we still call it that, I don't know, but it will be easier for them that way. God I hate writing death reports." The Admiral nodded yet again, both of them falling into a knowing silence that only fellow soldiers could really understand. He finally stood after several minutes, snapping into a crisp and near perfect salute. The admiral instantly stood and returned the salute, Kyle leaving without a word.

* * *

Fox felt something warm and heavy on his arm, his eyes cracking open to see Krystal fast asleep, her head resting on his arm. He smiled at the sight of her, the door opening beyond her catching his attention. Townsend slipped in, the automatic door closing behind him. he quietly made his way over to the bed, his baggy face unreadable.

"Fox, one of my co-workers knows about a procedure they are testing. A sort of splice if you will, much like the connection they make for cybernetic limbs, but between your spine and nerves. It so far has had low success rates, maybe twenty five percent. He's already called the company asking about it. we can do the operation, but we cant guarantee anything." Fox instantly nodded, glancing at Krystal.

"Hell yeah. if I ever listened to the odds, I would not be where I am today." Townsend sighed, closing his eyes for several seconds before he spoke.

"Fox, there have been cases where paralyzed people have regained their ability to walk. It might take years but it's a chance…." Fox cut him off, instantly speaking.

"Yeah, so? This operation, it takes only days after right?" Townsend nodded, prompting him to continue. "I don't have years Doc. There is a war going on. So yes, I'm taking this chance. Got it?" he nodded, Fox hearing Krystal groan. Her eyes cracked open, looking between the two of them, still groggy from sleep.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep. What are you two talking about?" Fox smiled at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"A chance of me walking again. Don't worry about it, just go get yourself some food or something." She nodded and smiled, giving his cheek a quick kiss before leaving. Townsend watched her go, his baggy face still totally unreadable.

"It will take a few days for us to get the tech and the details of the procedure. You can stay here until then, okay?" Fox nodded, townsend leaving the room, leaving him with his thoughts. He couldn't help but hope the next time he left the hospital, it would be under his own legs.

* * *

Mira glared at the door to their room, having been sound asleep until someone started pounding on the door. Her muscles all screamed in protest as she rolled off the bed, still in her flight suit. Pain shot through her legs as she landed on the floor, wincing. Vince was still asleep in his bunk, snoring away. she ignored him, slapping the panel to open the door, finding a familiar set of green eyes on the otherside.

"Hey Bale. What's up?" the fully armored soldier smirked, his helmet under the crook of his arm to show off his military short black hair.

"Not much, just an Op order you and whitey gotta attend. Platoon level." She nodded, stepping into the room and gently shaking vince. He groggily cracked his eyes open, licking his chops several times.

"Come on vince, gotta get up." He groaned and sat up, feeling around the bed for his glasses, which were on the floor. Mira grabbed them and handed them to him before dragging him out of the bed, waiting just long enough for him to put boots on before dragging him from the room. Bale was watching him with an amused expression as Vince was totally content with being dragged along, not even seeming awake.

"He always like this?" Mira chuckled, glancing at her practical cargo.

"Until he gets some form of coffee, yeah, pretty much." Bale laughed shaking his head. Mira gave him a quick glance, just to be sure he didn't notice the small devious smile that was growing on her muzzle. "So, Haden, what's the deal with Carrion?" she had noticed on her forays into the platoon area that the two of them were damn near joined at the hip, although she had yet to see a direct show of affection between the two of them. He turned bright red, looking away from her as he responded.

"Uh, I… we're friends. I guess." Mira rolled her eyes, unable to stop the smirk she had.

"Seems like more than that to me. Call it a gal's intuition." He gulped several times, seeming like he would squirm right out of his armor if he could right now.

"Uh….. well…. Yeah I like her. I mean, we are both from Ganymede. Same city even, so we just click! And she's, well, gorgeous so…. Um." Mira cut him off, giving his shoulder a gentle pat.

"And I'd say it's a mutual feeling. Ask her out dufas. Before someone else does." Bale groaned his face falling.

"I would but it's against military regs. Or, I think it is." Mira laughed, unable to stop her eyes from rolling as she muttered to herself about men having no backbone.

"So? My boyfriend didn't let that stop him. he was a lieutenant dating his platoon's medic. So if he could keep that relationship under the radar, you can keep you two's." he nodded, smiling broadly as they stepped into a room near the bunk room, which happened to be a small amphitheater. Vince instantly dropped into a seat, nearly falling asleep on the spot, to which Mira dragged him back up, forcible marching him to the front of the room, where the platoon sergeant, Kyle, and a female captain she didn't recognize were all standing, near a large screen. The sergeant nodded to them, which Mira returned as she watched Bale drop into a seat, beside Carrion.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, lets get this over with!" the sergeant was speaking, the lights dimming as he did so. Mira guessed someone was controlling the screen, letting her focus shift to it. "Most of you are aware of the situation by now. a military force of Lylatian origin is currently camping on Mars. The area is very rugged, with a canyon at the northeast edge of the base. Canyon is large enough to make it a natural barrier, so we can not approach from that side. Most of the terrain is rocky with shifting sand dunes. We wont be able to know the exact terrain until we are on the ground. Gravity is mars standard of point three eight gee's. We believe the base has artificial gravity but only inside. The air is extremely thin, about the same as the top of mount Everest, at a rough of six P-S-I" Kyle seemed to know that herself and Vince likely didn't know what that meant.

"Earth norm is close to fifteen P-S-I. I hear Corneria is about the same." She nodded, barely catching what the platoon sergeant was saying.

"So breath masks are going to be vital, but not impossible to survive without. Our mission is simple. Assault the compound, and acquire any intelligence we can. Vince Stazac here is in charge of gathering that intel, so all we gotta do is keep him alive." The image changed from a topographical map to a wire frame version of the known base structures and terrain. "Our first objective is to destroy this anti-aircraft battery. There are three guns in the battery." The image highlighted the guns, near the edge of the base. "After that, we push forward to the main complex, securing the area and checking for any intelligence along the way. We will be working alongside second platoon, as well as the rest of the battalion, and two other battalions, the twenty seventh armored, and the four forty second infantry battalions. We will be assigned a platoon from the armor to support our assault. Meanwhile, the sixty third air defense wing will be providing top cover for the operation. Captain Robles and her Dragon squadron will be providing airstrikes on tap for us." the female captain nodded to the sergeant as he gestured to her. "That means watch your fire on the right and left flanks, you could be putting rounds at friendlies. Deployment will be via O-D-P. We got this gentlemen." The three or four women around the room all glared at him, a small smirk spreading across the sergeants face.

"And ladies. Make sure to have NODs prepped and resupply bags ready, we will not know how long this mission will take. Dismissed!" the platoon all started standing, several conversations breaking out as they did so.

"So where am I during this?" the platoon sergeant glanced at her, just before jerking his thumb at the captain.

"Talk to Samantha. You'll be in her squadron for this mission. Vince, I'll scrounge up a vest for you. You have a weapon right?" he shakily nodded, no longer seeming asleep now that he knew he was going to likely be shot at. Mira started to step by them, waving her hand at the captain to gain her attention, just barely catching what he said next to vince. "Don't worry, we'll keep you out of the line of fire. Second Platoon and the armor are going to be doing the heavy lifting here." The captain nodded to her, holding her hand out to Mira as she got closer.

"Pleased to meet you Marshall. Ready to fly?" she nodded, accepting the handshake as she spoke.

"How hard would it be to be able to land once the double A is down? I'd like to join the ground force." She sighed, glancing back at the screen.

"There aren't many area's large enough for a tomcat to land until they reach the main complex. Once they get there, I'll clear you to land. See you in a few hours." Mira nodded to the woman, catching up with Vince to start preparing their gear.


	22. Project Wraith

Vince shook violently as he waited inside the Orbital Deployment Pod, along side Bale, Mason, and Carrion. He had been told that he was staying with the four of them, the platoon RTO, Medic, and Platoon Sergeant going to be hanging back as the rest of the two platoon's attack, second platoon's platoon sergeant going to be commanding the attack. They had all gone silent, waiting for the ship to hit the drop location. Vince's mouth had long gone dry, the splotchy brown and tan vest he was wearing making his shoulders ache. The Cornerian carbine was in a weapon's clamp beside his seat, which he was clamped into in the tight space of the pod. There was so little room that he could almost touch either side of the pod from the center. The other three in the pod all seemed almost bored, Mason checking his watch and smirking.

"Ten seconds." Vince tried to swallow, his dry mouth making the movement impossible. He tried to count down in his head, but lost count at six. Then his stomach suddenly slammed up his throat, the pod boosting away from the ship as it was dropped. With in seconds, the pod was shaking and heating up as it fell into the atmosphere, the heat in the pod making vince sweat. Of course, he wasn't the only one, shiny beads of liquid forming on all of the humans faces as well, the internal temperature of the pod probably reaching up to fifty degree's Celsius. The pod was shaking like mad, Vince simply hoping he would hold onto the small meal he had managed to eat before the drop, at least until he was on the ground. His stomach suddenly made a complete reversal as the braking booster fired, inertial compensators kicking in just enough to keep them from becoming spam in a can as the pod slammed onto the ground, lurching all of them in their seats. The door to the pod screamed open, letting in the blissfully cool air, although if Vince had been paying attention, it was actually scorching hot outside, but compared to the interior of the pod, it was cool to him. In a rehearsed fashion, all three of the soldiers slapped the release's on their clamps, Mason slipping right out of the Pod. Both Carrion and Bale yanked small assault packs out of the bays above their seats before following, Bale slapping the clamp release for vince before flowing out. Vince fell onto the deck plating, barely managing to grab his carbine before crawling out of the pod, no longer able to hold his stomach contents in.

"Thank god you managed to not blow chunks in the pod! Gibbs did that to me on the way down to Sauria. Smelled like vomit until we got our contingency bags and could change clothes." Bale was the one speaking, or that was what Vince guessed. He was still too busy trying to get the taste of vomit out of his mouth. He felt a hand pull him to his feet, looking up to see Carrion smiling at him, holding her canteen out. He accepted it and washed his mouth out, spitting the disgusting mixture out on the brown-red dirt.

"Wasn't Beasley and Sanchez in there too?" he nodded, his mouth opening to speak when Mason cut them off.

"Alright, enough chit chat, get your O-two flowing and let's get moving." Vince nodded, pulling his clear O2 mask on, surrounding his entire muzzle with a hose leading down to his waist. The humans all slipped on black masks that looked almost like old pilots masks on, a hose leading down to their chest rigs. He followed them as they picked their way through the jumbled rocks and dunes, slowly linking up with more and more soldiers, all with weapons loosely carried. They were moving to the heavy drop pods, which were designed to fall faster than the other pods so that they wouldn't crush the smaller pods. Each one could carry a single tank and it's two escort APC's. they had two tanks assigned to their area, the lighter weight APC's were going to be used to transport them to the target. Both of the Tanks had already linked up, their angular hull's and turrets painted a dusty dark tan to help them blend into the area. The APC's seemed taller and boxier than the tanks, with twin slender cannons mounted on a central turret, but they were really about the same height, simply thinner. Each APC turret had two long rectangular boxes on either side of the turret, each containing a pair of missiles. All of the APC's had their back's opened, letting soldiers board the vehicles. Vince was quickly lead to one of the lead vehicles, boarding it as soon as he could. There was enough room for six people, so naturally, they managed to cram nine in, three of the soldiers literally lying across the seated soldiers legs. _This ride is going to be terrible._ That thought slipped through his mind as the door raised, sealing them into the dark and cramped troop bay. Vince wasn't really sure how long they were in the bay, all he knew, was that it was way to long for his comfort. His carbine was jammed up against his chest, the hard plate in his vest digging into his collar bone. One of the soldiers faces was jammed just inches from Vince's snout, Vince forced to look toward the front of the vehicle to avoid letting his muzzle get to close to anyone. All of them crammed together in that small space was almost hotter than the drop pod. Finally the doors opened, Vince only now becoming aware of the light pings off the hull of the transport. Even with how jammed into the bay the soldiers were, they all filed out in near perfect coordination, one at a time. They slowly lined roughly up on whatever cover they could find, at least a few meters from their fellow soldiers. As soon as they were prone or behind cover, they began firing their weapons as fast as their fingers could pull the triggers, silvery blue bolts lancing away in massive numbers as every member of the platoon was firing, dumping every round in their magazines. The last soldier shouted for Vince to stay put behind the APC before he ran out to his spot, all the way to the far end of the line. As soon as their first magazines were empty, they suddenly picked up a rhythm to their shots, the twin squad support weapons firing off short bursts, synced so that the two guns were constantly laying down fire. The other soldiers seemed to have synced up with one of the soldiers next to them, firing two rounds, then letting their partner fire two rounds. And although there was vastly less fire going out, it was so constant that he doubted any of the defenders would even think of putting their heads up, much less return fire. By the lack of red plasma bolts whipping by the tank, he assumed that was true. There was a bang, followed by the scream of a Starfighter engine, the craft whipping by overhead just before explosions ripped at Vince's ears. He almost didn't react as the ramp he was standing on began to close, quickly stepping off of it to follow behind the vehicle. The air shook as the turret on the vehicle began firing, it's twin cannons making a sound almost like a heart beat as they fired, one right after another. He heard shouts, to indistinct for his translator to make them out, the human soldiers all standing up as one, moving forward with weapons raised, as if they were about to be shooting. But aside from the four APCs, it seemed like the firing had drizzled out, the entire force moving out. Vince stayed behind the vehicle as a familiar large form dashed over from one of the tanks, his voice clear as day.

"Stazac! Stick beside me! If I cant touch you, you're wrong Stazac!" with that, mason turned and started running back to the tank, Vince struggling to keep up. The pace lessoned to a steady walk once they were behind the tank, but even so, vince was struggling to breath. Mason rolled his eyes at him as he spoke into his radio, barely even winded.

* * *

I groaned as someone knocked on the door, having no desire to be awake. I dragged myself to the door, opening it to find the same primate that seemed to always be nearby, a baggy skinned hound beside him that distinctly resembled Pepper with lighter fur and an eyepatch standing beside him. both were wearing the same extravagant officer's uniform.

"Harrison. Need something?" the Ape wrinkled his nose, the canine outright covering his.

"I think someone's due a shower, and possibly a shave, I believe you humans call it?" they weren't lying. Since I had woken up again, I hadn't shaven or showered, likely in weeks to be honest. As such, I had a mess of scraggly hair starting to grow, too thin to really call a beard of any sort.

"Maybe. You didn't answer me Harrison." The ape shrugged, gesturing toward the Canine beside him.

"This is Vice Admiral Shears. The commander of The Emperor's forces." I knew that name was familiar from some where, but I couldn't place it. I gruffly shook his hand, his expression still disgusted after he had stopped covering his face.

"We have something to show you. Something you might like. Come." The canine's voice was dripping in disgust, and if I had to guess, not all of it seemed to be because of the stench.

"After you, Shears." They nodded and lead the way through the halls of the ship, a pair of the ever present armored guards following along. It didn't take long for us to arrive in a hanger bay, filled with fighters that looked oddly familiar. "What kind of craft are these? They look like Wolfens?" Harrison was the one to speak up, taking off his hat for a second to run a hand through his fur.

"These are Scythe interceptors. We borrowed some of the air frame of the Wolfen for them. They are one of the fastest fighters ever designed, and those cannons pack as much power as those mounted to cruisers. They may not be as maneuverable as an Arwing or Wolfen, but they will out run and out gun them. But these are not what we want to show you. Come." He waved for me to follow, leading me across the hanger to a fighter sitting by itself. At first, I thought it was an oversized Arwing gen three, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the air frame, but closer inspection revealed what it really was. It was the same design as the Raptor, with six G-diffusers, the hull and diffusers being nearly twice the size of an Arwing. In place of the traditional cannon mounts, were twin long barreled anti-ship cannons, nearly running the length of the fuselage. It was also equipped with twin ion engines, the two wing diffusers much thicker than they needed to be, the front showing a stack of missile bays mounted on top and bottom of the wing. The fuselage had a pair of rotary cannons mounted in it, on either side of the underside of the nose.

"Meet Project Wraith. Designed similarly to the humans eff-thirty seven Raptor two's. but where those are merely called 'air dominance fighters', the Wraith truly is one. Her cannons can penetrate cruiser grade shielding, she carries a reserve of nearly eighty high mobility multi-purpose missiles, and her twin rotary cannons have equal power to an Arwing cannon in each round, capable of firing nearly eighteen hundred rounds per minute. Those cannons are also gimbal mounted, capable of tracking nearly a dozen targets in a thirty degree cone in front of the craft. You practically don't even have to aim. And she is yours to fly." Admiral shears seemed insanely proud as he spoke, myself simply wandering forward to inspect the craft.

"When do I get to take her for a spin?" Admiral Harrison was instantly grinning in a way that was beyond malicious.

"Just a few minutes actually. you up for a challenge? So long as you don't mind hitting the UEC?" Will smiled, looking over the sleek black craft again.

"With pleasure."

* * *

Mira flicked through the systems of the Tomcat she was sitting in, liking the much better view she had, the fighter not being a twin seater. Everything came up green, a small smirk spreading across her features as she massaged her forearm. All of her muscles were tight and cramped up, it being almost painful to move. She sighed trying to shove that aside as she waited for the go order. The Female captain's voice quickly rang over the radio, Mira ignoring all but the order to launch. She knew her mission. Cover friendly forces from air attacks and drop bombs on enemy positions. There was nothing complicated about it. she slid right into the formation she was supposed to be a part of, the reddish brown planet dominating her view. It was still a few minutes before the drop pods would deploy, but they were supposed to be in atmo and approaching the operation area by then. It didn't take the squadron very long to reach the planet, dropping into the atmosphere. They were still several hundred kilometers away, far enough that they were likely still undetected. Six squadrons of fighters had all deployed for this operation, a number that honestly seemed excessive, given it was highly likely the base had no more air power, but the plan was for each squadron to attack one at a time, the others hanging back until the squadron before them had expended their munitions. Mira tried to keep her composure but as the mission timer ticked closer to zero from it's current negative of twenty minutes, her mind was thinking of Will. She couldn't help but wonder if he was alright, much less what condition he was in. she shuddered to think what could have been done to him in the now months that he had been missing. She tried to not think about that, massaging her fore arm as she watched several dozen streaks of fire fall into the atmosphere, marking the drop pods. She glanced down at the mission timer, having not even realized that she hadn't been paying attention to the time. There was less than thirty seconds on the clock now.

"Alright Dragons, remember, we sweep across the base once, dropping munitions on obstacles for the ground forces, then bug out until they bring down the Anti-air cannons. We are not much more than CAS for this one, so don't do anything stupid!" Mira closed her eyes for a second, a taking a long deep breath before she opened them. That half a second pause was all she needed, her left hand manipulating the weapons screen in front of her. her fighter was loaded with four missiles and four GBU's, or guided bombs. They could be guided by a system called a Global Positioning System, or by laser or RADAR locks, acquired from the aircraft itself or soldiers on the ground. Each plane only had one target, mostly defense weapons on the base's out defense wall. She quickly set her target, choosing to use her fighters RADAR to acquire the lock. A green blinking square appeared on her HUD, slowly rotating as she drew closer. Flak started to be fired into the air, just as the box stood on it's point, glowing red as a lock tone filled her cockpit. She instantly depressed the button on top of her flight stick, the craft shuddering as the shackles holding the bomb released. As soon as it had, she started to juke and maneuver, the friendly craft having spread out to avoid colliding with one another. Red plasma blasts ripped past her as she used every maneuver she knew to duck dodge and weave through the AA fire. She breathed a sigh of relief as the flight dropped into the canyon, following it and using it as cover from the fire.

"This is Wraith two-six, defense wall on our route is still standing, I repeat, the wall is still standing! Our tanks don't have the right munitions to knock it down!" Mira was instantly reacting, pitching up to flip around and return to the base.

"Wraith two-six, read you loud and clear, Dragon three-four inbound, thirty seconds, out." She heard several protests from Kyle and the flight leader for Dragon three, but she ignored them, staying under the rim of the canyon until the last possible second, keeping her throttle maxed and hoping speed was enough to keep her from getting hit. she almost didn't have time to lock the bomb on target before she released the munition, not seeing it explode as she ripped past at well beyond the speed of sound. She quickly dropped her altitude, trying to use the low hills as a form of cover.

"All Units! Pull back and dig in! All fighters, back to the ship ASAP! Condition black! I repeat, condition black!" Mira almost lost her concentration, absolutely confused, having no idea what the Admiral could be meaning. Even so, she complied, getting out of their accurate attack range and breaking for orbit. "All craft, close distance with the Lincoln and prepare for emergency transwarp jump." Mira, although confused, remained quiet. "All fighters, we have a single Vengeance class Dreadnaught assaulting orbital station Shield. all ships will engage the dreadnaught on sight. Dragon squadron, you will divert to Orbital station Shield and deal with a hostile assaulting the station!" almost on cue with the end of the impromptu briefing, she slipped back into formation with the rest of the squadron, realizing that every single fighter the Lincoln could deploy was airborne, holding positon under it's wings. A wave of energy seemed to pulse over the ship, washing over all of the fighters as well as a blue hued shield formed ahead of the ship, covering enough space to shield an entire fleet. But unlike the fleet shield she had seen the CDF used, it seemed to pulse outwardly near constantly. Before she could notice more, she was jolted in her seat, going wide eyed as they were suddenly ripped into warp. But something seemed different about this jump, almost like the super charged particles washing off the shielding were moving at a speed beyond imagination.

"Mira, when you get the signal, pitch away from the Lincoln! You'll be flattened if you don't!" she went wide eyed, having no time to respond as the Admiral came across the net again.

"All craft, dropping from jump in five… Four… Three… Two… One… Break!" as soon as she heard the word 'break' she pitched down, feeling herself violently jerked against her harness. Her speedometer was almost triple that of what her fighter was able to reach on it's own power, the G-Diffusion system fighting to bring her craft back down to a normal speed. She and every other fighter had been catapulted nearly a thousand kilometers in front of the Lincoln. The short jump had crossed a distance that would have taken almost two weeks at a normal Warp speed, in a matter of seconds. Before she got the chance to wonder how the ship had done it, she realized that they were only fifty or so clicks off the station and it's defense platforms. She could barely make out the kilometer and a half form of a vessel that looked much like an enlarged Verham cruiser. It had deployed a fleet shield ahead of it, preventing the orbital platforms around Shield from damaging it. not that the platforms could have done much, given three of them were now nothing but scrap, a couple of the others looking disabled. One was falling out of orbit, toward the green and blue world below.

"How can this be happening! It's one fighter!" Mira's brow furrowed as the scratchy voice came over the battle net. Another one quickly joined it.

"Damn it! nothing we throw at it seems to do anything!" she angled her fighter toward the stations, seeing the signs of combat, small flashes showing exploding craft. As she watched, a pair of brilliant silver beams blasted away from a small speck, tearing clean through one of the defense stations and obliterating it. several IFF blips disappeared at once, enveloped in the blast from the stations reactor.

"Alright Dragons! Let's take this son of a bitch down!" she maxed her throttle out as they approached, a single red blip turning toward their formation. Whatever it was, it was large, bigger than the Tomcat even, but it's shape was eerily familiar. It almost looked like an Arwing. Almost. Her eyes went wide as the distance between their formation and the target violently decreased, the enemy craft flying well beyond any speed that she had thought possible with current tech. she barely had time to react as a warning alarm rang out, her cockpit turning red to tell her that someone had locked onto her. she rammed her yoke back, and seemingly just in time as a stream of green bolts ripped through where she had just been. Five of the Dragons weren't as lucky, their fighters splintering apart at the massive volume of fire being spit from the fighter. She went wide eyed as the fighter streaked past their formation, ripping through the fiery remains of the ships it had just destroyed. She panicked, trying to bring the fighter around to engage the craft, only to see it stop on a dime, six bright green line's in space marking G-diffusers. Those lines disappeared in a flash, the ship facing them again and firing another burst, claiming two more lives with it's incredible volume of fire. She was still trying to arc around, but some how, Kyle had gotten his bird around, firing off all four of his missiles. Right before impact, the fighter juked to the side, a movement that Mira had seen only one other fighter do. The missiles streaked by, starting to circle around when the fighter flashed forward, mira realizing almost to late that it was aiming to slam the missiles into her. she barely dodged them, her fighter rocking as one of the other tomcats wasn't as lucky, being blasted apart. _This isn't a fight, it's a slaughter!_ She couldn't help her thoughts as she rolled and pitched right before slamming her foot on the rudder, seeing a mass of green plasma fire rip by her cockpit, her shields dropping out from several of the shots clipping her craft. _Now's my chance! I gotta take this bastard down!_ She slammed her other foot on the rudder, bringing her nose back on line with the enemy fighter and firing her cannons. A stream of silvery blue bolts ripped away from her fighter, splashing harmlessly against the fighters shields. She panicked as the craft easily ducked out of her fire, literally moving straight down at a speed that rivaled the forward flight of an Arwing Interceptor. She quickly rolled and pitched, going to follow when a missile streaked by, fired by one of the remaining fighters in the squadron. It slammed into the craft, engulfing it in a massive fireball. But when the blast cleared, the ship was still there, completely unharmed and facing her. she slammed her thumb on the munitions trigger a top her yoke, not even realizing the system was still set to the GBU's, releasing one of them as she pitched out of the way. Her fighter was rocked as the proximity detonator on the bomb went off, multiple alarms going off. Her fighter fought her as she brought it around, seeing the enemy fighter fighting to regain control. She groaned, realizing that although the craft had been tossed about by the bomb, it still looked totally unscathed. She fired her cannons again, seeing them splashing harmlessly against shielding. _Damn it! why wont this thing go down already_! Her muscles were burning as the ship rattled around her. she was having to fight with the fighter just to hold her course.

"Dragon three- four, pull back! Your fighter's already beat to hell!" she mentally cursed Kyle, completely ignoring his request. She saw one more of the Dragons flash out of existence, Kyle, herself, and the last remaining Dragon hot on the craft's tail. They were rapidly closing on the station, the fighter juking and dodging every shot fired at him. she was blinded for a second as a bright silver lance filled her view, tearing into a frigate that had been moving to intercept the fighter. It's lights flickered and faded, a hole punched clean through the ship. How does this fighter have so much power! "Carson! I'm going to distract it, you pound your payload into that thing!" She quickly switched to her own missiles, locking all four onto the fighter along with the other Dragon. Kyle lunged his fighter forward, closing the distance on the juking and dodging craft, bursts of fire ripping away from his craft and actually managing to hit the ship. it seemed to have forgotten that they were locked on, Mira depressing the secondary trigger again, her fighter rumbling as the four missiles ripped away from her ship. four more joined her missiles all eight streaking toward the craft. in an instant, the craft had flipped around, still flying away from them as it opened fire, demolishing all eight missiles, Kyle not getting clear of the onslaught. One of his fighter's wings came off, the ship spiraling out of control. The next thing mira saw, was the fighter ripping through the explosions and right for her. time seemed to slow down as she went wide eyed, slamming her control yoke forward. The enemy fighter was flipped over from her perspective, the light of the sun illuminating the human pilot. Her heart felt like it stopped, able to recognize who was flying the opposing ship. she screamed in confusion, just before it's G-diffusers struck her fighter, sparks and a flash being the last thing she was aware of.


	23. Remembrance

Mira's eyes flicked open, panic filling her. before she moved more than an inch, she was being pinned in place, a brilliant white light filling her vision.

"Whoa there Mira! Take it slow. You're already concussed." Her eyes began to adjust to the bright lighting of the medical bay as Kyle spoke, a rhythmic beeping filling her ears. _i….. did I see what I thought I did?!_ she tried to shake the image out of her head, the last clear thing she could think of.

"What happened?!" her brain was still in panic mode as she looked around the near empty room.

"That fighter smashed through yours, then pulled out, along with the dreadnaught. Lost three whole wings of fighters, several frigates and cruisers, and five different battle stations to that one fighter. It's a miracle that either of us survived." She nodded, still trying to shake that same image out of her head.

"You….. you didn't happen to I-D the pilot, did you?" he shook his head, one of his eyebrows raising.

"No….. odd question to ask…" she shrugged, looking away. _there's no way that was Will. He wouldn't do this!? that cruiser was definitely one of Oikonny's, and I know he would never work for him!_

"Where's vince?" Kyle smirked, his confusion disappearing.

"Mars. We secured comms, and some local forces backed them up. Base is ours now. he's digging in their files as we speak." She quickly pulled the sensors on her arm off, the machines screaming in protest. "Whoa, what are you doing?!" he tried to keep her seated, Mira shoving back.

"Get off me! I'm going down there! Now where the hell are my clothes!" he seemed to take a step back from her, staring at her almost fearfully. Mira barely realized that she was growling at him, something she hadn't done in a long time.

"In your room. Weapons too. You really should re…" she cut him off, storming past him without a second glance, or caring that she was only wearing an open backed patients gown.

"I don't care. I'm going." His response was instant, gently grabbing her wrist.

"then at least let me go grab you some clothes. Wandering the ship half naked is not attention you want." She grunted and plopped back onto the bed.

"Be quick about it then!" he waved her off before disappearing through the door, leaving her alone with a startled nurse. The nurse seemed to debate coming over to Mira to speak to her, but one glare told the human otherwise. The nurse disappeared back to the relative safety of her work station, leaving Mira alone with her thoughts, barely even noticing as she drifted off into her memories.

 _ **"I'm an angel with a shotgun, shotgun, shot gun. An angel with a shotgun, shotgun, shotgun."** Mira tapped her foot as the beat of the song picked up, her eyes closed and totally oblivious to the world as she listened to the human song. She had a set of ear buds in, so no one else could hear what she was listening too. She was lying on her bed, feet still on the floor, so focused on the song that she didn't hear the door to the room open. without any warning, she felt arms snake under her body, easily and violently lifting her off the bed to be clamped to Will's chest, her eyes snapping open in utter terror before her brain was able to comprehend what was going on. She glared at his eyes, rolling her eyes as he managed to pull one of the ear buds out._

 _"I caught you. Now….. what am I gonna do with you?" she sighed, unable to help but roll her eyes again._

 _"For one, you can put me back down you big oaf. Sheesh, you act like a dorky kid sometimes." He was instantly pouting at her statement, a completely disheartened look joining the pout. But she knew he was just trying to hide a smile. He was almost always smiling around her._

 _"Aww, you're no fun today Mira." She glared at him, only to find herself being kissed, all annoyance, pretend or otherwise, evaporating in an instant. Her eyes flicked back open after he broke the kiss off, not even realizing that she had closed them._

 _"How do you always do this?" he raised an eyebrow at her, Mira not even having to hear his voice to know what he was about to ask. "You always manage to surprise me." He smiled and chuckled, Mira shrieking as he suddenly shifted his hold on her, catapulting himself onto the bed, and taking Mira along for the ride. She couldn't help but smile as she realized she was now side by side with him, his arms still around her waist._

 _"You make it too easy to surprise you. Whacha listening to?" she smiled and snuggled closer to him, the song closing on it's end now._

 _"I think it's called angel with a shotgun? I cant understand all of the lyrics, but I like the song." Will chuckled, shaking the small bed._

 _"Figures, stealing my music still. You realize all I really listen to is considered classical music, right?" she felt her eyes close, silence falling between them as a new song played, one she didn't recognize. She felt Will release her for a second, opening her eyes to see him grab the other ear bud and stick it in his own ear. "Saviors of the World, skillet. Good song, but gimme that." He grabbed the disconnected wrist computer, flicking through the songs despite Mira's protest, easily pining her beside him and holding the device out of reach._

 _"Ass, I'm listening to that." He seemed to have found the song he wanted, starting it and unplugging the ear buds so the music would play out loud._

 _ **"Put on your war paint!"** she rolled her eyes, knowing the song he had played, given he listened to it a lot while he was sparing with Fox._

 _"Pfft, seriously? The Phoenix, again? You listen to this song on loop for hours sometimes!" she smiled as he set the device beside them, grinning himself._

 _"What?! I like it!" she closed her eyes again, resting her head on his chest. Before she even knew what she was doing, she was sound asleep, unable to stop herself from doing so._

* * *

I tried to suppress the rage boiling within my veins as I slid down the ladder from the craft, furious that it had suddenly stopped working. It seemed to have suddenly lost power after colliding with a tomcat, barely functioning enough to make it back to the ship. Admiral Shears was moving toward the craft, that rage I had been holding back suddenly exploding out.

"What the fuck is that shit!? What happened out there!?" although shears was actually a little shorter than me, I still got the feeling that he was looking down on me at all times.

"Your pitiful flying ability I would say." My fists clenched automatically at his bitter words, wanting to strangle him.

"What was that!? The shields on that fighter are insane! There is no way a small collision like that would punch through them when a GBU had literally no effect!" Shears only grunted in response, angering me even further. "Damn it, you useless piece of shit! Tell me how this fighter has so much god damned power or I aint flying it again! I aint gonna trust a piece of hardware when I don't even know how it works!" Shears merely grunted again and walked past me, inspecting the ship as he walked along it.

"First off, lower your tone with me boy. Second, in case you hadn't noticed, this ships internal power supply is no better than a standard Arwings. I would say a little worse in fact. The anti-ship lasers alone require far more power than this ship is capable of out putting." I raised an eyebrow at him, some of the anger fading. But only some. "There fore, we needed an…. Alternative way to power the fighter. It's too small to put a bigger reactor on it, especially with most of the space in the craft needed for the hydrogen fuel for the anti-fighter cannons and the cooling units to keep the craft operational. Thankfully, it does have the space for a type of receiver system used by the human battle stations orbiting the very station you just attacked."

"if you got a point, get fucking too it shears!" his attention remained on the fighter, continuing the same as he was before.

"Human battle platforms are too small to have their own power supplies. At least, not enough to power the rail cannons and plasma arrays they are equipped with. Most of the battle stations are totally unmanned as well. If you were paying attention at all, we were probing earth's defense network. All of the battle stations have central hub stations, a much larger station focused on detection, but there is another reason for them. They have the capability to wirelessly transmit power to the platforms they support, allowing the battle stations to be much smaller and harder to hit. This fighter works by the same principle. There is an entire fusion reactor on board this ship that is entirely devoted to supplying power to this fighter, so were it or the transceiver be damaged…." I cut his droning voice off with my own, snapping at him.

"I get it, no more dominance fighter. Coulda just said it used a wireless generator. Woulda got the damn point with out the fucking headache." Before he could think to respond, I had turned on the spot and started marching out of the hanger. _Why am I suddenly so fucking angry!? There's no fucking reason for it!_ I shook my head as I made my way through the ship, several of the venomonian soldiers backing off in fear as I passed. Apparently, it was very clear that I was angry, and not one seemed like they wanted to be near that. When I reached the room, I instantly locked the door behind me and collapsed onto the bed, trying to remember the last moments of that fight. Something about them had infuriated me for reasons I could not place. I closed my eyes as I laid there, images of the craft that had collided with mine and disabled it flashing into my vision. Almost like I had paused a video, I could see a split second from just before we impacted on each other's craft, remembering that the pilot had looked odd. Their helmet had been misshapen, almost like it was designed to accommodate a muzzle, not a human face. _Probably just my imagination. That pilot was pretty good though. Whoever they were, they were holding their own while completely outclassed._ I shrugged it off, not really caring. _Was probably just lucky. Fuck, why am I still furious right now?_ I groaned before standing up and flicking the lights back off, dropping right back onto the bed. _Probably just angry about losing that fight._ _Ah damn it, what did I expect, one fighter against the most well protected spot in the entire Sol system? Dream on man, no ship has that kinda power!_ I rolled over on my bed, hoping to try to sleep, but it was clear that wasn't going to happen, as I couldn't even keep my eyes closed for more than a few seconds.

 _You know you're not angry about that._ It was almost as if a voice that wasn't my own had spoken. Problem was, it definitely was. _If I'm not angry about that, then why the hell am I angry?_ Images of my life so far seemed to start playing at random, from good times to bad times, everything was flooding in. as I watched, I slowly started realizing that everytime I had started to become happy, every time I started to have a life I wanted, it was yanked away from me. All through out my life, I had moved away from the people I cared about, only to make new friends somewhere else, followed by that being ripped away as well. And when I had finally found someone I loved, I had watched her die not long after, right in front of me. When someone finally started helping me past that, his life was snuffed out as well. Even Mira, who had managed to make me happier than I could ever remember, had eventually been ripped away. _this is why I'm angry. And all of that anger is for this cruel fucking life. Why have I even been bothering living in it when all it has ever done is rip away everything I build?_ I closed my eyes again, just wishing it would all stop. That somehow, life would just stop. Before I even knew what I was doing, I pulled the small blaster pistol off my thigh, hearing the weapon whine as the safety was flicked off. The metal of the barrel was cold against the side of my head as I began to pull the trigger, but, just before the weapon would fire, right on that familiar threshold every weapon had that you could feel that the trigger was about to release, my finger stopped, a memory flooding into my mind.

 _"Because you still think you are guilty of her death. You aren't. She made a choice to join the military. So did you. If you want to blame someone, blame the one who shot her." I pushed Mira away after she had spoken so I could look her in the eye. Their vibrant blue color was the only distinct feature I could remember. But I could still feel how soft her fur was, almost like holding silk, one of my hands still resting on the wet fur of her upper arm._

 _"I'm the one who ordered my men to hold that position. If I had followed my orders, she would still be alive!" even though I couldn't remember what it looked like, I could still remember that she had been frowning, looking like her mind had been racing for what to say._

 _"And how many innocent lives would be dead? A hundred, a thousand? You made the right choice. And if she was here now, I guarantee you, that's what she would say." I had stayed silent, looking away from her. At the time, I had been thinking of Amanda, and my fellow soldiers who had died alongside of her. She had sighed at the time, standing to lean on the desk, just watching me. "Will, everything happens for a reason. Sometimes, it isn't clear, sometimes, it is. But, all things, good and bad, happen for a reason. If she hadn't died, you would still be with the UEC, and I would be long dead. Your knowledge of UEC tactics and equipment have saved this teams asses more times than I can count. And I'm sure Robert's death had a reason, my parents deaths, that soldier on Sauria." I could still remember the way she had broken down too, feeling just as lost and confused as I had. Her tears had caused me to shove everything else aside, unknowingly accepting what had happened, and taking the first real step in moving on._

Tears started leaking out of my eyes as I dropped the weapon, my voice almost silent as I spoke to myself. "You're right Mira. Everything does happen for a reason. We just have to find it."

* * *

 _"Fox… you look like you have something on your mind?" Fox looked up from the holotable, seeing Fara across from him._ **_Why am I dreaming about this now? this was months ago….._** _she had an expression on her slim face that Fox could only describe as pained and worried, an expression he had seen on her face before._

 _"It's….. it's nothing Fara. Let's just focus on planning this mission." She tapped a button on the holotable, causing it to go into standby, which prevented Fox from working on the mission plan._

 _"Fox, I know you well enough to know this isn't nothing. You've been like this since you joined us." Fox just raised an eyebrow at her, a small sigh slipping out of her as she realized she was going to have to elaborate. "You're being….. distant. Like when your father died. What's bothering you Fox?" he sighed, looking away from her._

 _"It's Krystal…" Fox barely saw her moving out of the corner of his eye, watching her move around to table to be in front of him. she had a small smirk on her face, one eyebrow raised, mimicking the cant of her ear. It was also an expression he knew way to well. "I… I said some really terrible things to her. things I never got to fully apologize for. God she must hate me, especially for leaving her like I did." Fara smiled at him as he spoke, bewildering fox for a second._

 _"I doubt she does. I saw the way she was clinging to you before you left." Fox's eyes closed and he shook his head as she spoke._ She doesn't understand. How could she?

 _"Fara….. she had literally watched her boyfriend murdered a few hours earlier, and then seen his corpse treated like a piece of trash. That….. it wasn't what you seem to be thinking it was. She was just looking for comfort." Fara chuckled, confusing Fox even more._

 _"Come on dude? Are you seriously still this thick? She was seeking comfort, yeah, but she was seeking **you're** comfort. She loves you Fox. Don't give up on her. it's that simple, I guarantee it. if you don't give up on her, then she wont give up on you. I know I wouldn't have." Fox let out a small sigh, looking at her emerald green eyes. There was that same confidence there he had always known, and always trusted._

 _"Yeah. I really hope you're right Fara." Both of their attention focused back onto the holotable after Fox spoke, Fox almost not hearing what she said next._

 _"Me too. you've had your heart broken too many times already."_

Fox felt himself slipping out of that memory, slowly becoming conscious again. If he didn't know better, he would have thought nothing had changed, that he had just fallen asleep, given he woke up in the same room he had been in. but he remembered the anesthetic he had been given. And more importantly, he had a strange sensation coming from his legs. Almost like a pins and needles feeling, amplified by a thousand and across the entirety of his legs. He grinned, overjoyed by that one sensation, shocked at how quickly he seemed to have forgotten what sensation in his legs was like. Krystal was asleep in one of the chairs in the room, by the large window. It was dark outside and in the room, the clock on the digital wall panel showing it as being nearly one in the morning. Fox tried to move his legs, finding that he could, but frankly, not very well. Almost like someone had smacked the nerves hard enough to lock his legs up, and leave him unable to control them. He winced as he slipped off the bed, the feeling of pins and needles intensifying the second he put pressure on his pads. He gulped, still holding onto the bed for support as he took a shaky step forward. He barely kept from shouting in joy as he managed another step forward, moving further away from the bed. _Wow, Townsend was not joking about that procedure!_ He let go of the bed on his third step, unable to stop from wobbling as his legs were now trying to support his own weight. The strange sensation was intense, to the point that he was starting to sweat.

"Come on Fox, just a couple more steps to her…. you can do this." he kept his voice to a faint whisper as he spoke to himself, trying to settle himself. Another shaky step and he was closer to Krystal, about halfway there in fact. Without warning, his right leg gave out, Fox falling to the floor with a pained yelp. The sound awoke Krystal, who jumped out of her chair immediately upon realizing that Fox was at her feet.

"Fox! Are you alrig…. You… did you crawl here!?" she was clearly panicking as she rolled Fox onto his back, Fox unable to anything but chuckle and smile, his face still screwed up in pain from the sensation in his legs.

"Well, I tried to surprise ya! Guess I still aint quite ready to walk again yet!" he felt her pull his upper body off the floor, pulling him into the tightest embrace she possibly could. Somehow, feeling the warmth of her touch caused him to totally forget the terrible sensation in his legs, simply wrapping his arms around her.

"Fox! You are such an idiot! You shouldn't have tried walking without someone! You could've hurt yourself." He just grinned sheepishly, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"I'm fine Krystal. Or, I will be. Besides, aint going anywhere unless I start walking there." He felt her chuckle, his smile softening as his voice quieted. "Krystal…. I'm never going to give up on you, okay? No matter what, I'll always love you. You are my world Krystal." He knew she was starting to cry, able to feel it through her telepathy, which was frankly more than likely bleeding across anyone within a block wide radius. He didn't mind though, because he knew they were tears of happiness.

"I know Fox, you don't have to tell me that! You're my world too! I'm so sorry for everything I've put you through…. I….. I just want to take all of that back…." Fox managed to scoot himself into a sitting position, putting space between them again. He couldn't help but grin at her as his own eyes teared up.

"Krystal, it's okay. I told you, I wont give up on you. No matter what, okay?" she nodded and kissed him, everything in the universe suddenly seeming totally irrelevant in that one small moment. _Thank you so much Fara….._


	24. Ghosts of the Past

Wolf groaned, his head falling into his hands. He was finally back on the Wolfhound again, but that brought him almost no comfort. It's hanger was overflowing, carrying Falco and Katt's fighters in the return bay. The Wolfhound was designed with four launch tubes, allowing the Wolfens to launch out the sides of the ship and not expose the small ships vulnerable hanger bay in a sudden fight.

"The fuck!?" Wolf glanced up at his primate team mate as the man swore, one eyebrow rising. "Someone hacked our B-net. Damn shit wasn't even on!" Wolf slipped out of his chair and moved over to their Tactical network terminal. The set of screens normally displayed multiple data feeds, from statuses on fighter craft, to info on enemy vessels. At the moment, all of the screens were on the fritz, until one suddenly cleared, green words appearing on the screen.

 _A is running the show. Ghost is compromised, but not lost. More to follow when possible. Trust me. –H_

Wolf stared at the screen absolutely bewildered. He finished reading the line again, just barely finishing when the text disappeared, the screen returning to normal.

"The fuck was that Dash?!" the primate shrugged, typing through several screens at once. He seemed as confused as Wolf was.

"I…. I don't know man. Came out of no where. No one knows how I set up our B-Net, it's supposed to be undetectable. Who the fuck is H and ghost? Or A for that Fucking matter?" Wolf wracked his brain for a second, suddenly realizing something.

"Will… Ghost was his callsign. Who ever this is, they are referring to Will. We know he's captured, so compromised has to mean something else." Wolf started to pace back and forth, raking his brain for any information to help figure out the cryptic message.

"Does H mean Hawkins? as in, the admiral?" Wolf stared at Dash for a few seconds, thinking.

"No. he would have commed through the US forces in system." Dash nodded, instantly responding to Wolf.

"Yeah, good point. Could A mean Andross?" Wolf instantly froze at that, his one good eye going wide.

"Andross is dead. Fox killed him. I saw the remains." Dash held up a finger, typing commands into one of the screens.

"Yeah, but he nearly came back, twice. Oikonny's been damn near silent since the Aparoid war, it is perfectly possible that he managed to clone his uncle. We all know he was crazy about him." Wolf shook his head, pulling up comms logs from the first engagement of the Aparoid war.

"He wouldn't have. He craved power, he hated being in Andross's shadow. He never would have revived him." Dash just shrugged, silence falling between them. That silence was broken as an alert tone blasted the bridge. Wolf darted back over to the comms panel, answering the incoming hail. He was shocked to find a familiar cinnamon colored husky on the other end of the line.

"O'Donnel. Look, I don't like you, but the others don't want to leave Corneria, and I want to hunt down that Midnight bastard." Wolf crossed his arms, glaring at the woman.

"And what makes you think I want your help?" she glared right back, so defiantly that he couldn't help but be reminded of Fara when he first met her.

"I'm a decent pilot, and I've been a bounty hunter four years now. I know how to find people." He grunted, shutting off the comm line. He saw Dash's confused expression and held a finger, silently watching the terminal. It rang again and Wolf fought smirking. The explosion of anger from the speakers and on the screen had him wincing, even with being prepared for it.

"What the hell!? Just going to hang up on me now for no fucking reason!? I know you're a murdering psycho, but I thought you at least had some fucking manners!" he found himself unable to not smile. _Dang, she's actually really cute when she's pissed. I gotta do this again some time._ She huffed at him on the screen, brushing some of her hair out of her eyes and looking off screen. "Gonna stop staring at me yet, or are ya gonna say something?" he just canted his head and continued to glare at her, trying to not smile at torturing her more. "I'm about to hang up you."

"What, so you can call me right back? You really want a shot at Midnight? Get me some info. Then I'll pick you up. Gotta have a better reason than picking up a team mate." He let a few seconds pass between him, dropping all thoughts of a façade as he continued. "Look, Sheila, right?" she nodded, and he continued before she could speak. "I'm sorry. I know he took someone from you. Just get us something actionable, either on Oikonny or Midnight. Don't try to transmit it either. calls from Corneria are usually monitored, especially data going out. Gotta go." She nodded before he could end the call again, a sigh slipping out before he could stop it.

* * *

Mira checked the charge on Will's blast rifle, knowing it was ready to go already, but checking it anyway. Her head was still hurting, but at this point, she didn't care anymore. She needed to do something, get what she saw out of her head.

"You sure your good Mira? You only woke up a couple of hours ago?" she glanced over at Kyle and smirked, seeing that he did look legitimately worried.

"Dude I'm fine. Don't go sounding like Will now. you'll lose your charm." He glared at her after she spoke, opening his mouth to respond when the intercom blared to life.

"Mira Marshall, to the bridge, immediately. Repeat….." she sighed, slinging her weapon.

"I guess I'll be back. Cya." He nodded and she quickly left from the ground deployment hanger they had been in. Kyle had been sticking with her since she awoke, saying he was trying to keep an eye on her. something in the way he glanced at her told he was worried about. _Wow must really be getting worse at burying shit._ It didn't take her long to reach the ships tramway, riding it to the rear of the ship before hopping onto the elevator she needed, the whole trip barely taking twenty minutes. She wasn't stopped by the bridge guard, but that was only because the guard on duty knew her. Admiral Hawkins was standing by the holotable, in his usual digital pattern uniform. across from him was an oddly familiar female, older in years but still gorgeous by human standards. She was wearing a plain grey business skirt and white short sleeve blouse. Her skin was a darker tan color than the admiral's, with greying jet black hair and very familiar piercing green eyes.

"Mira, this here is Ambassador Shakeela Ayoub. She wanted to meet you." The woman smiled to her, the name causing her to realize who she was speaking too. Mira's heart seemed to drop out, almost not accepting the hand shake the ambassador offered.

"It's a pleasure to meet you miss Marshall. It's a shame it isn't under better circumstances." Mira nodded, still not wanting to say anything. Admiral Hawkins seemed to instantly pick up on how uncomfortable Mira was, speaking in the silence.

"My ready room is right over here. You can talk a little more privately in there." Mira nodded and followed him into the small chamber. It had a small desk and computer, several shelves filled with pictures and nick-knacks, and a single small bed against the back wall, making for a single comfortable living space. She still couldn't bring herself to look at the ambassador, instead, letting her eyes wander the many models of ships on one of the shelves, from a trident fighter to several different pre first contact cruisers, a single post contact cruiser, and finally, a model of the Lincoln. There were also several pictures of Will and his friends from various ages, only one really catching her eye. It had to have been taken while Will was only months old, given it was of what seemed to be a slimmer and harder lined version of Will standing with an absolutely stunning woman. Her features were very soft, and she had a build that Mira would say matched her own, not twig thin, but still thin, and a little bit of an athletic build, but not overly so. She had dark brown hair, almost the same color of Will's actually, and was holding a child that couldn't have been more than six months old.

"Jessica. Will's mother. She was very kind. Well, until you angered her. that woman had one hell of a temper." Mira startled as the ambassador spoke, realizing she had been silent for so long that she was likely being impolite. But it seemed that the ambassador didn't mind, simply staring at the same photo Mira was.

"He never really got to know his mother." Mira found herself speaking before she could stop herself, almost cursing herself as she realized that Ayoub probably knew that.

"I know. Don't beat yourself up over what happened with Naseeba." Mira froze, opening her mouth to speak only for the ambassador to stop her. "It was never your fault, I know what happened, you don't need to say anything."

"I do! I couldn't save her that night, and that's entirely on me. I'm sorry." Mira barely realized that she was crying, the ambassador gently wiping one of the tears from her eye.

"She's in a better place. And you made sure she wasn't alone when she started her journey there. I couldn't ask for anything more. Thank you." Mira looked away from her, more tears leaking out. Silence seemed to stretch on between them, Mira not really even knowing how long it was until Ayoub finally broke the silence. "Has there been any word on finding Will?" Mira shook her head, images from the dogfight flashing through her mind.

"No. I was about to go down to Mars and see what Vince had dug up when I got called up here." She heard a small sigh from the ambassador, the woman's hand giving Mira's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Okay. You'll find him. I have faith in you. And so does Damien. So go on. Go meet up with this vince." Mira nodded, not even bothering to look at the Ambassador as she left the room, heading back for the deployment bay.

* * *

Mira watched as the ramp lowered, standing as she saw Vince waiting for her. he was wearing the same kind of clear mask she was. She waved as she stepped down the ramp, soldiers carrying supply crates following her off.

"Find anything yet vince?" he shrugged, turning to walk her to the main command building as she reached him.

"Nothing substantial. There is an insane tunnel network below this base, we haven't been able to explore it at all, mostly been trying drones. They keep losing signal or not coming back. Even the wired ones." Mira audibly groaned as vince spoke. _Damn it, as if this mission was bad enough._

"So I guess we gotta do this the old fashioned way. Fun." Vince nodded as they stepped inside the air lock for the building, both of them taking their masks off.

"Yeah. Mason's platoon is gonna head down the main shaft in a few minutes. He wants the two of us with him." Mira nodded and followed Vince as he led the way through the trashed facility. There were plasma burns and blood smears all across the place from the intense fight that had gone on. It didn't take them long to reach the basement of the facility, where the platoon was waiting for them. Most of them had their helmets on, a few of them with meals in hand as Mira and Vince entered the room. Most of them glanced up, but not much more. Mason, on the other hand, marched across the room to greet them, his usually serious expression turned grim.

"I still think this is a bad idea Stazac." Vince straightened his glasses as he shifted nervously, clearly not much liking the expression he was getting.

"All of the data feeds go down there, and they mass shorted all of the computers up here. We want actionable intel, down there is the only place to get it." Mason sighed before glancing around the room, his eyes coming to a rest on Mira.

"You are going to be sticking beside Stazac. I don't know why the Admiral puts value on the two of you, but I aint letting either of you out of my sight. Got it?" Both of them nodded, Mason turning and collecting his men before leading the way to the tunnel airlock. At best guess, the tunnels were open to the atmosphere somewhere, so they were going to have to use oxygen tanks again down there. It didn't take long for them to funnel through the airlock, Vince and Mira sticking beside Mason as they moved into the down into the tunnels. It didn't take long before the tunnels darkened to a point that even night vision optics weren't working with out turning on infra-red lights. This left Vince hanging on to Mira, who had pulled herself an un magnified night vision scope and a special rig that let her use it as her own night vision device. It was clunky, and she had no depth perception through it, but it was working well enough that she could see.

"Damn, friggan dark down here." Mira recognized Bale's voice, but through the Nods, she could only really recognize vince and Carrion, given her size difference.

"Stow it." she heard Bale grumble at that, but they continued moving until one of the radio's buzzed to life.

"Got a problem. Cables split into different directions. A lot of different directions." Mira groaned, realizing that this situation was seeming worse and worse, and eerily familiar.

"Mason, this just got dangerous. Oikonny loves his trapped tunnel systems. Boulders, spear launchers, landmines, trap doors, androids. I'm getting that vibe right now. been down one before." The group continued on further down the passage until they reached a massive junction room. The main cable they had been following had split into at least a dozen different smaller cables, each with it's own tunnel.

"Alright, what do you suggest, Marshall?" she sighed, looking at the cables under her nods.

"Vince, can you see if any of the cables are powered?" he was shaking his head, and she continued before he could speak. "Only other option is split up. Magnetics could see the trap triggers so I would say that's are best bet." Several helmets turned toward her at once, not recognizing the voice that spoke.

"Magnetics'?! that shit is still top secret equipment! Only S-F and Rangers have that shit, and Cornerian's sure as shit shouldn't know about it!" Mason, or who she guessed was mason, moved over to the man speaking, making a 'kill it' sign.

"Ramirez, you aint supposed to talk about that shit either! it is like he said though. Only rangers and S-F teams got those. We aint either of those." Mira couldn't help but be shocked at that. _Hmm, makes me wonder how he got him. does explain why he never really talked about them._

"Only choice is to split up and be careful. Expect EMP fields and name a trap, and it's probably some where down here." Mason sighed, looking down the different paths.

"Alright, Bale, Carrion, take Marshal down a path. Stazac, take a guess on which path, then hang on to me. Everyone else, split up, take a route, and be fucking careful. You don't find anything in two hours, head back here. Move out!" Mira saw Bale wave to her, nodding and following him. fear was starting to build in her chest, tightening her grip on the weapon she was carrying as they moved down one of the paths.

* * *

I snapped up from my bed as the door opened, almost panicking for a second only to realize that it was just Harrison. I grunted in greeting and flopped back onto the bed, shielding my eyes as he flicked the lights on.

"Um, I found something….. it was sitting in a storage locker in the med bay, where we keep patients personal effects. You uh, might want to see it." his voice sounded hesitant, but not like he was afraid to speak. It was odd, almost like he thought he was about to hurt me. At least, that was the impression I got. I sat up, still groggy from sleep.

"What is it Harrison?" I almost didn't react as he lightly tossed something toward me, catching the small object, my eyes widening as I realized what it was. It was a small wooden carving, maybe four inches long at most. It was of an Earth wolf standing on a rock, unpainted, but done in such fine detail that there was no mistaking a single detail. My chest seemed to disappear, leaving a holo cavity in it's place as I stared at the object, memories flooding my mind as I stared at it. tears came flowing out alongside those memories, unable to contain them. "H-how…. How did you know this was mine?" I looked up at him as a smile crossed his features, one that there was no mistaking as genuine.

"You don't remember the conversation, but we've talked about the carving before. You had been asking where it was, while you where still in the med bay. We…. Well, we had lost it by accident. I'm sorry it took us so long to find it." I didn't respond, my attention shifting back to the wood. "I'll leave you be for now." I quickly looked up, seeing him turn around, running a hand through the fur on his head, about to put his hat back on.

"Thank you. For finding this Harrison." He stopped as I spoke, turning to look at me with the same smile, holding his hat to his chest.

"Anytime my friend." With that, he closed the door, leaving me in silence again.


	25. Numbered Days

Sheila bit her lip, staring at the name on the door placard. _Why am I so scared of meeting him? it's not like we've never spoken…._ She took a deep breath, then knocked on the door. A female voice called from the other side, telling her to come in. she gingerly opened the door and stepped inside, greeted by a small chamber, a delicate brown and white canine greeting her with a smile that could melt Fachina. The chamber had several plants, and seemed as welcoming as a five star hotel lounge.

"Hello miss. May I help you?" Sheila bit her lip again, still with no clue why she was.

"Um, yeah, I need to meet with senator Reeves. It's important." Sheila found her self ringing the pocket on her cargo pants, right where her blaster usually was.

"Did you have an appointment today miss…..?" she bit her lip yet again, tasting a tiny amount of copper. _Need to stop this, gonna put a hole in my lip…_

"Spitz. Sheila spitz, former CDF fighter pilot. And not exactly but….. he's an old friend." She smiled at Sheila again, keying up the intercom.

"Senator, there's a Sheila Spitz here to see you. Shall I let her in?" the response was near instantaneous, and made Sheila breath a sigh of relief.

"Yes, please, I've been expecting her. thank you Carrie." The canine stood and gestured Sheila to the door behind her as she opened it. Sheila smiled at her and stepped around her desk, entering the office itself. It was a very sudden and stark contrast to the secretary's office. It was completely bland and Spartan, not a single thing in the room not having a purpose. In all of the news reels every senatorial office she had seen had extravagant desks, and were filled with pleasantries. But even the desk was a simple wooden desk. _Figures, he's made himself the most accessible senator, working from his district and not behind every bodyguard in the region._ And behind the desk was a slim brown furred canine lupine hybrid. He smiled to her and gestured to one of the chairs. "Have a seat. nice to see you again Miss Spitz." She raised an eyebrow at him, double checking that the door was closed.

"We…. Haven't actually meet senator….." he simply smiled at her again, leaning forward onto his plain desk.

"We have. Your Cornerian valor medal. I was at the ceremony. And it's just Kyle. Need something?" she nodded, biting her lip again.

"Yeah….. I need anything you have on…. Um…" she froze up, realizing she probably shouldn't outright say Midnight or Oikonny's name in his office.

"Midnight?" she nodded and he let a small sigh slipping out.

"Arent you afraid someone might hear us talking about them?" he shook his head, gesturing to a round object up in one of the corners.

"Sound canceler. Also blocks radio and comm signals. This room is a complete dead zone. Courtesy of one Vince Stazac. What do you need?"

"I need info on Midnight and Oikonny. Anything new, especially something me and Wolf can take action on." The senator nodded, pulling a laptop over and opening it.

"It's not much, but we had reports of a 'ghost fleet' out around Aquas. Disappears before anyone can get more than a few radar hits on it. Wolfhound might have better luck. Take the whole laptop." She nodded, smiling as she glanced at the screen, closing it before setting it in her lap.

"That easy huh?" he nodded and smiled.

"That easy. I got some intel analysts working on things. Ones that have yet to be bought out yet that is. Be careful Sheila. I aint sayin the prime minister himself is dirty, although he probably aint far off, the people he listens too, aren't just on the government's payroll. Fox needs to be extra careful too, with what happened to him." she nodded, a small sigh slipping out. "And Sheila? There's a plan in motion, Peppy's fighting it, but a lot of our force commanders are on board with it. As far as leaders are concerned, they're either too scared to fight it, angry enough to agree to it, or I'm damn sure they are getting a lump sum of cash to go for it."

"What plan?" Sheila watched as he stood, a small sigh slipping out of him.

"They are going to nuke earth. Target as much of it's major infrastructure and production capabilities. They say it will end the war but…." Sheila gulped, already knowing where he was going. Although Corneria did have nuclear weapons, they were primarily used to redirect celestial bodies from populated planets. The Venom army had used them during the Lylat wars, but aside from that, they were rarely used as weapons. Humanity, on the other hand, only had laws against their use on planets, and as such, every single cruiser had at least one nuclear warhead on board, if not more. And not only that, they likely had the means to pulverize every planet in the Lylat system with them.

"That…. Humanity would wipe us off the face of the galaxy if we did that….." a somber silence fell between them, neither one really wanting to speak anymore. "I…. how long do we have?" Reeves sat back down in his chair.

"Two weeks from tomorrow, that's when the final vote is." Sheila cursed to herself before standing, already headed for the door.

"So I guess we need to end this war before then. Good luck senator." She was already out the door before he could respond, having to fight running for the closest comms terminal.

* * *

"Quiet…." Mira's soft whisper caused both of the soldiers with her to freeze, and although she wasn't looking at them, she knew they were staring at her. her ears twitched as she tried to focus on listening. _I could swear I heard one….._ after a few seconds, she head the barest trace of a squeak, followed by a pair of thuds. _Damn it! Androids._ "We got androids. I can hear them. Barely." She kept her voice as low as she could as she spoke to the other two. they had been wandering down the tunnels for nearly two hours, and it seemed like it was an endless maze. On the bright side, they had hit no resistance what so ever. Until now.

"damn, guess those ears really are good for something. Anything we need to really worry about?" Mira glanced at Bale after he spoke, shrugging.

"Depends on how many we are talking about. Three or four, we should be fine. Any more and things start getting tough. Your rifles should tear right through them….. just….. well, last time, we faced dozens of them." Both of the other soldiers nodded, letting her lead the way. The two of them had surprised her earlier when they told her that whatever decision she made, they would follow. They had every reason to not trust her, and yet, they still did. she shook that off, moving forward down the passage they were in. it twisted and turned downwards, farther than any of them cared to know, only to arrive at a large open chamber. It was unlit, and the reach of the IR lights on their night vision couldn't reach out far enough to give them a clear view on what was in the room, not able to see the walls or ceiling, save the wall their tunnel exited from.

"Hey uh, Bale, your actually and eleven series, right? Happen to know the range on Nods with no lum?" Carrion's voice was several octaves higher than it usually was, likely as shocked at Mira was at the vastness of the room before them.

"Uh, yeah, they don't actually teach us that in infantry training….. I think it's somewhere around fifty, maybe sixty yards." Mira gulped, knowing they were now at a major disadvantage. Thermal imagery had no real limit to how far it could detect things, meaning the androids she could hear earlier, could be a kilometer away and be able to see them, even in absolute darkness like this.

"Please tell me you guys have something better than night vision. That's putting us at a major disadvantage in here." Bale nodded as Mira spoke, reaching up to the device on his helmet to slide it onto his helmet's forehead, out of his vision.

"Yeah, we got two fifty lumen lights on our weapons. Can light up a barn almost two hundred meters away, just kill you nods first." Mira nodded, quickly twisting the power nob on her device to the off position before taking the rig off, stowing it in a cargo pocket. Carrion had already slid her own goggles up, just before all three rifle lights were activated. Mira was shocked when the light on her rifle damn near blinded her, out powering both of the other lights combined. "God damn, that thing is bright! Where the hell did you get it!?" the other two had to shield their eyes for a second as well, the already dark room seeming much darker now that they had light again.

"I don't know. Will bought and set up this rifle. I think the light can be set lower…." She was moving to bring the light level down when Bale stopped her. she glanced at him, only to see that his vision was fixed on something ahead of them. She glanced at what her beam of light was illuminating, seeing dozens of consoles and a large steel hulk, painted a deep crimson. She swept the light across it, showing the hull of a ship, only able to see maybe three hundred meters or so of it. if she had to guess, it was a Verham cruiser, only a hell'uva lot bigger. There were several fighters landed haphazardly in the room they were in, being a smaller hanger, opening into the larger ship berth beyond. A twitch of movement drew her attention, something near a console moving. Before they could react, red plasma bolts started lancing toward them, blasting chunks out of the wall as the small team scattered, having to run almost sixty meters just to find some cover. Mira tried to ignore the pain and soreness across her body, adrenaline over writing everything she felt. The other two had ended up several dozen meters away, and were already firing back at the armored robots, seemingly fruitlessly. The mechs were coming from behind consoles and fighters in twos and threes, the silvery blue bolts from the human rifles ricocheting off them, energy shielding flaring at the impacts. Mira flicked the selector lever on the rifle to the power blast setting and opened fire, watching the much larger green bolts reflect off as well, the mechs shielding not even wavering. She cursed as she dropped back below the console, the air around her already starting to heat up from the volume of inaccurate plasma fire ripping around her.

"Hey Tails! I thought you said our weapons would rip these things apart!" she glared across the gap between them, almost blinded by the lights on their rifles and only able to see them when plasma bolts lit them up. _The hell kind of nickname is tails and where did he dream it from!_

"don't look at me! I cant do shit to em either!" she saw one of them pop up, only for several plasma blasts to pound into them, collapsing to the ground.

"Maria!" She could barely hear his rifle clattering to the ground as he shouted. Mira cursed and leapt to her feet, returning fire as fast as her weapon could let her, missing with more rounds than she hit. One of those misses announced hitting gold with a massive explosion, knocking her off her feet, as well as most of the mechs. She crawled the rest of the way over to Bale and Carrion, toning her light down so she didn't blind them. She could see that at least one round had torn through carrions armor, one hitting her unarmored arm. Mira grimaced as Bale pulled a handle hidden under a flap on the top of her chest plate, the connections for the shoulders and buckles popping loose, letting Bale pull the plates off. _Wow, that's a neat trick._ She shook the thought off as she dropped her small pack, digging into it to find her medical supplies, quickly cutting the cloth around the two wounds with a pair of scissors before slathering burn gel on both of the injuries, followed by a chest seal on the chest wound and a bandage around her arm. The sound of a mechs mechanical footsteps drew her attention as she began to roll Carrion over, seeing an android stepping around their cover. Bale was already reacting firing a fully automatic burst of fire into the mech. The rounds tore through its armor, firing the delicate circuitry below. Mira's attention fell back to Carrion, rolling her over so that the injured side of her chest was down, and finding a burn on the back side of her uniform. she quickly repeated the process she had on the other chest wound, leaving her on her side before grabbing her weapon.

"What ever you hit on that mad rush seems to have knocked their shields offline!" she didn't acknowledge him, just firing a pair of overcharged rounds into one of the surviving mechs, watching it fall.

"How many left!" they were both ducked back down as Mira shouted back, plasma bolts ripping overhead again.

"Eight, I think!" she groaned and popped to the side of the console, firing another pair of rounds at one, seeing it crumple to the ground, anther was moving to flank the two of them, Mira moving to fire, only for the weapon to sputter, a small flash of energy discharging from the barrel and nothing else. She cursed, dropping the weapon onto it's sling a yanking Will's pistol out. Just one of it's tungsten rounds ripped the head off of mech. She quickly popped over the barricade, firing three more of the rounds in rapid succession, fighting to control the violent bucking of the weapon. It was nothing like the recoil on a Cornerian blaster, but the two more mechs dropping was not something she could complain about.

"Damn, that thing got tungsten rounds or something!?" she nodded, firing the last four rounds in an equally rapid succession, the last of the mechs dropping as they both pounded rounds into them. She quickly dropped the magazine, fumbling slightly as she slid a new magazine in, making sure to stow the empty one before releasing the slide on the weapon. "Huh, boyfriends blaster I guess." She nodded again, trying to quell the shaking in her muscles as she checked Carrions pulse. She was unconscious, but alive. "Is she going to be…." She could hear the worry in his voice, cutting him off before he could say more.

"Yeah, she will. See if you cant get someone on comms. Faster we get her out of here, the better." He nodded, dropping his own pack as she reloaded Will's rifle, slinging it on her back before picking up Carrions, reloading it as well. A couple of the magazines for it went into her empty cargo pocket, Bale raising an eyebrow at her for the action, but remaining silent.

"This is two-six romeo, calling any station this net, respond!" the radio was loud enough that she could hear the staticy response clearly.

"Two-six romeo, two six, hearing you broken but readable." Mira breathed a sigh of relief, knowing this place wasn't rigged like titania.

"Roger that, we have a casualty, and we found ourselves something big. Need assistance, beacon is active. Repeat need assistance, active beacon!" he spoke slowly and clearly, Mira sweeping the area around them with Carrions weapon, slowly moving further and further from Bale. She stopped as she noticed one of the consoles had a small green light on it, so faint that she couldn't even see it when her light was on it. she quickly powered the console up, finding it locked, and cursing to herself. "Mira! Helps on the wa-" his voice dropped off as an explosion ripped out, Mira snapping the weapon in the direction of it only to see four human soldiers rushing out a new hole in one of the walls, Vince following them out. She smiled at the site of them, Vince trotting over to her as she waved.

"Find something?" she merely gestured at the computer after he spoke, watching as he opened a command interface, quickly and easily bypassing the lock. "Hmm, everything on here is heavily encrypted. Cant get much off here….. hmm, Cerinia?" Mira's eyes snapped to the console, instantly honing in on the unencrypted word, seeing the word 'research' on the file as well. As well as a date, placing it with in the past month.

"Holy shit! Cerinia is Krystal's homeworld! How much would you be willing to bet there is a research base there! But…. Why is the question?" Vince quickly copied the files onto a hard drive he was carrying. Before anymore could be said, a faint rumble echoed through the room, Mira's eyes snapping up. Several high pitched blasts marked red plasma bolts ripping away from a turret on the vessel, shaking the entire area. The ship slowly began to lift off it's birth, more weapons firing beginning to destabilize the ceiling. Chunks began to fall, crushing one of the strike fighters.

"Run for it!" she wasn't sure who screamed that, but she didn't need another invitation, sprinting for the tunnel out. Her light crossed the entrance, lighting up something metallic, barely sliding to a stop and bringing the weapon up in time to fire. The weapon violently bucked against her shoulder, several bolts of plasma lancing into the mechs, but most hit the wall above them as the muzzle bucked upwards, thankfully, she wasn't the only one to fire, the three mechs stepping through dropping as rounds tore into them. More red plasma blasts whipped by from behind, Mira spinning on the spot and engaging them, pulsing the trigger to control the violent recoil she wasn't accustomed to, and to great effect as several mechs collapsed. Vince darted by her, the last of the people there. She emptied the magazine before sprinting from the room, and just in time as debris clogged the tunnel behind her. she lost any real cognitive thought as she ran for her life, dropping the empty magazine and loading a fresh one by instinct alone. She barely notice herself slowly pass the others , finding herself as the first to reach the cross roads, soldiers spilling out of several different paths. Bale and Mason came out from her path, Maria hoisted between them. She looked down the path, seeing vince several meters down it still when the roof of the passage caved in, blocking her view of him.

"Vince!" she felt tears in her eyes as one of the infantry dragged her away. she tried to shake the soldier off, only to hear shouting in her hear, barely understanding what they said.

"Damn it Marshall! He's gone!" she slumped in defeat, letting herself be dragged from the tunnel system.

* * *

Wolf watched as his ship dropped from warp, it's stealth systems letting it slip right by the orbital defenses around Corneria, easily dropping into orbit and shortly after, the atmosphere. It didn't take the ship long to drop far enough to disable the stealth systems, Riley handling ground control as they directed themselves to Star Fox's private landing pad. He watched in silence as the ship was gently set down on the private landing pad, the corvette sized ship taking up all of the pad. As soon as the ship had landed, he made his way to the hanger, were the cargo ramp was. It didn't take him long to get there, literally riding the ramp down. The Canine they were there for was already on the landing pad, stepping on the second the ramp touched the ground.

"Come on, we don't have time to dawdle. Here." She handed him a laptop as she strode up the ramp wolf tapping a command into his wrist computer to raise the ramp.

"What's the rush for, you said it was urgent when you called?" she nodded as the ramp raised back into the ship, Falco giving them a puzzled look.

"We got two weeks to end this war. Corneria is on the verge of nuking earth. We all know what that will cause, we are going to aquas, got it?" wolf shrugged, leading the way up to the bridge, speaking the second he arrived.

"Riley, set course for Aquas, Dash, compare this with our data." The two instantly followed his orders, the ship lifting off the pad.

"Is Fox alright?" Wolf glanced over at Falco as he spoke, Sheila shuffling her feet before responding.

"I don't know. Last I heard, the damage was repaired, but he still couldn't walk." Falco let out a sigh before leaving the bridge, Wolf watching him go. He let a small sigh slip out before dropping back into his command chair, the view port showing the sky turn from it's gentle blue to the black of space, just before Riley triggered the warp drive.

* * *

Fox grunted as he hobbled forward, using the crutches under his arms to move. Krystal had stopped on the other side of the door, smiling at him as she waited for him to catch up. He returned the smile before he finished moving through the door, out into the streets. He couldn't help the smile that slipped out as he breathed in the familiar air, glad to finally be out of the hospital. He was currently on pain meds for his legs, but he was already starting to regain feeling again, even though it was barely a day after the surgery. A cab was already waiting for them, Fox dropping into the seat as Krystal held the door open for him. they both remained silent on the drive to the head quarters, Fox getting out the second the cab stopped.

"Fox McCloud. Hmph, thought you left the planet?" Fox looked beside him, seeing a familiar detective, the deep brown lupine smiling in an almost evil fashion, his yellow eyes fixed on Fox.

"Detective. Need something, or just sight seeing?" Fox glared at the man, knowing he was responsible for arresting his team members twice before, and still hadn't given up.

"Yeah. where have you been for the past five months?, McCloud" Fox just grunted, starting to crutch his way away as Krystal rejoined him.

"None of your damned business. Good bye detective." Fox tried to ignore him as he shouted after them, but to no avail.

"I will bring you to justice Star Fox! I can promise you that! Just you wait!" Fox let his eyes close for a second, taking a breath, but deciding to not speak. _Good luck with that detective._


	26. Fragments

Admiral Hawkins found himself tapping his foot as he waited in his ready room, finding himself anxious about what Mira was bringing from the surface as far as information. He had tried to engage a vengeance class cruiser as it blasted out of it's underground berth, but his ship had been out of range, the vessel making it to warp long before he could get in range. He had already received initial reports from his ground forces, which had sustained several casualties, some presumed dead, but currently missing, including one of the Cornerians. The door opened, Mira marching in without missing a step. She was covered in red dust, changing the color of her fur, and although she was clearly exhausted, he could see a fire burning behind her eyes.

"I need to go back to Corneria." He stared at her for a second, slightly startled at the force of her voice. "We saw a computer file, and I believe there is a base on a planet known as Cerinia. The Great Fox is the only ship with Cerinia's coordinates, and it's above Corneria right now. gate me there. Now." he took a second to compose himself before he responded, still startled by the violent change to a normally calm woman.

"Are you sure about this Mira? Jumping you back to Corneria is a very risky move…" she slammed her palm on the desk, instantly silencing him.

"I don't give a damn! We just lost any chance here in the sol system of finding answers! So give me the damned chance to find them elsewhere!" he sighed, pulling up his holo terminal up.

"You have thirty minutes, I'm ordering the jump now. we have a damaged fighter you can use. Maybe you can convince the government you were forced here on someone else's will." She nodded, turning and leaving before he could say another word. He sighed, about to close the terminal when the call system rang, marked as urgent. He answered it to find himself face to face with the aging president of the United States.

"Ma-am, what's going on, your transmission is on an emergency band?" a sigh slipped out of her mouth, her somber expression making her seem even older than she was.

"We got intelligence that Corneria is planning a nuclear strike on earth. The UEC war council is having a meeting on how to counter it. there are whispers that several nations a pushing to unleash the entire arsenal on the Lylat system before they can launch." Hawkins cursed under his breath, pulling up a system that let him send orders quickly.

"I'm on my way Madame. See you soon." She nodded and the call terminated, Hawkins typing up a combined order for a shuttle to be prepped, and for the ship to jump back to earth. _God damn it! as if this war wasn't bad enough!_

* * *

Krystal smiled as she let Fox brace himself on her, watching as he tried to walk from the couch to the fringe. He was insisting that she let him try to move around on his own, and Krystal had to admit, she was shocked by his improvements. He was still weak and shaky, but for the most part, he was walking. She knew how much pain he was in from it, but she did also know that he was improving rapidly in every way. Just the few hours they had been home, he had already managed to move to the bathroom with almost no assistance. Her train of thought was suddenly broken when Fox stumbled, Krystal feeling his right leg suddenly fail, and managing to catch him before falling.

"It's alright Fox, you're doing amazingly." He grimaced, his brow furrowing as he concentrated, putting weight back on his leg and starting to move again. He had just reached the fridge when the main door to the head quarters flew open, Krystal glancing up only to be shocked to see Mira charging through, in full battle rattle, and seemingly covered in dust.

"Krystal, I…. Fox!? What are you doing here?!" he grimaced at her as Krystal's mouth hung limply open, still shocked to see Mira again so soon.

"I got hit Mira. Still recovering." She visibly shrugged his explanation away, her voice exploding out of her like a runaway freight train.

"Krystal! I need your help! Fay and Lou are already on board! let's go!" Krystal helped Fox back to the couch, the two of them sharing a confused look.

"Mira, go where?" Mira stopped as if she had just slammed into a wall, biting her lip at Krystal's words.

"Um….. well, long story short, Cerinia." Krystal stared at her, dumbfounded, with no idea how to respond.

"Why Cerinia?" Mira barely glanced at Fox as he spoke, her response spilling out.

"I think Oikonny has a research base there that we need eyes on. Now grab your gear and let's go!" Krystal nodded, springing off the couch only to freeze.

"Wait, Mira….. What about Fox? He needs someone here to help him!" Fox was surprisingly the one to respond to Krystal, his voice drawing Krystal's attention to him.

"I'll be fine Krys. She needs you more than I do. Just stay safe." Krystal smiled to him in the most loving fashion she could before sprinting off into her room, grabbing her staff and equipment rig, as well as her weapons, scrambling to fill a pack with some spare clothing. She rushed back into the living room to find two more new comers, both of whom she recognized as Sabrina and Derrick. She barely acknowledged them as she reached Fox, hugging him and giving him a kiss, one that neither of them wanted to break off from.

"I love you Fox. I promise, I'll be fine." She barely managed to break the kiss off to speak, fox kissing her again almost immediately after she finished speaking.

"I know Krystal. I love you too." his voice broke off their second kiss, both with tears in their eyes as Krystal followed Mira out. Mira was already speaking again as they stepped onto the elevator.

"We are using Lou's freighter. Okay?" she nodded and gulped, hoping that what ever this was, it was going to end well.

* * *

Wolf took a deep breath as he sat in the seat of his fighter, his eyes closed. He knew the fight they were about to enter was going to be a dangerous one, but he knew that if they didn't try and pull it off, there was a strong chance things were going to go bad for both the Lylat system and the sol system.

"Alright, we have that 'ghost fleet' in sight. Twelve ships, three Verham cruisers, a Grazgan Carrier, seven frigates, and a single vengeance class cruiser. The Texas is ready to drop out of warp, and we are ready to give the carrier a wake up call. Remember, we are covering Ramirez's dropship and giving them a hole to board that vengeance class cruiser." Wolf's eyes opened as Dash spoke over the comms. He was up on the bridge, instead of in his Wolfen. Sheila had taken his place, insisting on helping with this fight. Miyu was also going to be with them, flying Fara's ship. the bay door ahead of him slowly slid open, letting light into the dark launch tube. The Wolfhound was a large delta shape, curving to have it's 'wings' angled down. The four launch tubes, two on each side of the ship, were off the center fuselage of the ship, launching the fighters over the wings. The underside was expanded to hold the cargo bay, and was where the return bay was for the fighters was. It had twin cannons built under the wings, running along the return bay. It also had massive G-Diffusers built into the back of the wings, it's five high powered ion engines giving the ship a massive amount of speed and maneuverability. The twin cannons rivaled those of the Great Fox, the ship having been literally designed to kill the Great Fox.

He felt the ship vibrate as the main cannons fire, slamming his throttle forward at almost the same time. His fighter sat in place for half a second before suddenly leaping out of the short launch tube, ripping out into space. As soon as he was clear of the tube, his fighter brought the wings out of the folded storage position and he rolled and pitched, bringing him on line with the enemy fleet. All of the ships were arrayed around the vengeance class cruiser, so that their weapons had the best field of fire for defending the flagship. The Grazgan carrier, a giant tuning fork shaped craft, had been holding the rear of the fleet, but it was nothing more than floating scrap, the Wolfhound having hit it's reactor core. Fighters were beginning to launch from the other ships, just as the Texas and two boxy anti-air corvettes dropped out of warp, above the enemy formation. The Texas still had a kinetic main cannon, the high velocity slug it fired weighing in at twenty tons. That cannon fired almost as soon as the ship left warp, ripping through one of the Verham cruisers with enough force to tear the ship in half. The corvettes were also already firing, the full fury of their twelve twenty-five millimeter phalanx cannons turning enemy fighters, as well as one of the frigates, into nothing but scrap. Wolf smirked, knowing at how shocked the enemy fleet commander must be right now.

"All fighters, hit that Vengeance right in balls! I don't want that ship moving!" he heard Falco chuckle over the radio, all seven craft ducking a weaving past sheets of plasma fire, Wolf only firing a couple of blasts as fighters made the mistake of flying past his guns. As soon as they were in range, Miyu let loose a pair of missile packs they had outfitted the Phoenix with, the twin packs bursting into dozens of short ranged micro missiles, which literally shredded the ships engines, a special micro burst EMP device in the main canisters knocking the shields offline just long enough to prevent them from stopping the barrage

"Alright, Ball kick complete! Focusing on flak cannons!" the Phoenix peeled away as Wolf broke off, chasing down a pair of strike fighters. Both lasted less than a couple of seconds, only for a fighter he almost thought was a wolfen to drop onto his tail, knocking his shields down in only a couple of hits.

"Damn, what the hell is this thing!" He hadn't realized he had spoken into the radio, a Wolfen ripping past his canopy. A stream of unlinked fire ripped through the enemy fighter's shielding and blasted the craft apart, the Wolfen peeling off after a pair of assault bombers.

"Welcome grumpy! Thank me later!" he recognized Sheila's voice, a smirk crossing his face. _Decent pilot and pretty cute. Rare combo._ He shrugged that thought away, focusing on engaging anything that could pose a threat to an unarmed dropship. As he shot after an interceptor, one of the other Verham cruisers detonated, hit by a rail round from the Texas.

"This is Pegasus one-one, beginning mission now. cover my ass!" Wolf's IFF system was pre-programed to register the dropship as a priority friendly, highlighting the craft in his HUD. He maxed out his throttle as he looped around the crippled cruiser, dodging several cannon blasts as he chased down another one of the wolfen like fighters, splintering it apart with half a dozen linked blasts. On his RADAR, several red blips disappeared, a pair of Tomcat squadrons clearing a path through the enemy fighters, crippling one of the frigates with a barrage of missiles. Wolf smirked as the Dropship arrived on target, completely untouched by the enemy. It disappeared into the enemy hanger, Wolf strafing a gun battery near the hanger as they did so. The last of the Verham cruisers was ahead of him, being torn apart as he watched, the U.S.S. Texas pushing straight down through their formation, it's broadside cannon array laying down sheets of accurate cannon fire into the enemy vessel, quickly crippling it. _Come on Ramirez, don't let us down now!_ he ducked and weaved through cannon fire, nailing two more strike bombers as they tried to angle in on the Texas's engines, watching as the craft split apart. He smiled as one spiraled out of control, slamming into the control bridge of one of the last frigates, it's entire payload detonating, crippling the ship.

"Keep it up pilots! We got the enemy on the ropes!" Wolf heard the call from the Texas as he looped away, seeing a Wolfen trying to shake off two more of the newer fighters. He instantly moved to engage, coming in from the side of the wingpair. One flashed out of existence as he rolled and pitched to follow, the second fighter breaking off and juking out of his fire. He barely managed to not slam into it as it violently decelerated, using it's twin G-Diffusers. He cursed, knowing the fighter was now tight on his tail. He smirked as he saw an opportunity in the remains of one of the verahm cruisers, some tactful touches of his rudder pedals and stick causing his fighter to bank back and forth before suddenly rolling over and diving, going straight into the hole left by the Texas's main gun. The enemy fighter tried to follow, but rolled too late, slamming into the hull and detonating.

"This is Captain Ramirez, objective achieved, onboard Pegasus and on our way home. Blow these assholes back to the stone age!" Wolf grinned, a pair of green lances from the wolfhound penetrating the Vengeance cruisers hull, the ship detonating as the reactor overloaded. What few enemy fighters that remained retreated to the only remaining frigate, just before the ship attempted to warp out. A well placed burst of phalanx fire from one of the corvettes ripped the ship in half, the rear half smashing through the bow and detonating as the warp engines tried to trigger.

"Alright, Star Wolf, report in!" he smiled as one after another reported in as unharmed, until falco's voice rang through his cockpit.

"Star Wolf!? Jeez, I know fox is out of it, but we aint no fucking Star Wolf, Star Fox reading green across the board!" Wolf couldn't help but smile at how aggravated the bird had become over one statement.

"Quiet bird, you're stupidity is annoying me!" Wolf groaned as his team member jibed back at Falco, covering his face with his hand.

"What was that, lizard boy!?" Before either of them could say more, Sheila's voice flooded the comms.

"Damn it guys, will you just shut up already!? Tell me we got something good!" Wolf guided his fighter under the wolfhound, closing his wings into the storage configuration as a tractor beam pulled him back into the hanger.

"Wont know until it's decrypted. Sure as shit hope it's good."

* * *

Mira stood on the bridge of Lou's freighter, biting her lip as they passed through the green disk of the orbital gate. They came out of the gate into what seemed to be a black void, only broken by the fragmented remains of planet before them, burned black by flares from the dying star that had killed the world in the first place. She could feel the mood in the room drop as every set of eyes was focused on the planet below them. _I can hardly believe that planet used to be inhabited, just a decade ago. less than, actually_ _…._ a pained sigh slipped out of Krystal, Mira glancing at her with a frown. She couldn't imagine how painful it must be to see one's home world like this.

"Uh guys, initial sweep is showing energy sigs both in orbit and on what's left of the surface. Long range scans identifying one Vengeance class cruiser. They are moving to intercept us!" Mira cursed to herself as lou spoke, making sure she had Will's blaster ready.

"Send out a distress signal, tight beam back to Lylat. I just hope Wolf or someone picks it up." Lou nodded setting the distress beacon.

"Alright, powering the ship down, beacon is launched. There's a smuggling compartment on this thing, go hide in it." Mira could hear the strain in his voice, knowing he wasn't planning on joining them.

"What about you Lou?" he smiled at her, almost jokingly.

"Gotta have a pilot for this ploy to work. Don't worry about me, just make sure you break my ass out on the way in, got it?" Mira smiled back to him and nodded, following the other two into the cargo hold. They crammed themselves into the small compartment, hidden under the bridge access, Lou sealing them in. they could still hear him as he moved about the ship, waiting for their ship to be captured. _Damn it, I really hope they don't decide to just blow us away_ _._ minutes dragged on until they heard a sharp clunk, bouncing all of them into the air. Mira tried to keep from whimpering as a grating sound could be heard, likely someone forcing the cargo door open. "Don't shoot! Please, I'm unarmed, just a tra-" Lou's voice was cut off by a blaster shot, the sudden blast startling all three of them, Fay yipping in frightened surprise. Krystal gave Mira a pained expression, a few tears slipping out of her eyes.

"Search this vessel! I want to make sure he was the only one on board!" Mira found herself holding her breath, hoping they wouldn't be found.

* * *

Fox took a deep breath before standing up from the couch, his legs barely shaking. _I cant leave them out there alone. I'm going after them_ _._ he shakily stepped away from the couch, glancing at his crutches before moving down the hall too his room. The farther he walked, the better his legs felt, the less shaking he had, feeling stronger with each step. He quickly packed an assault pack, strapping his carbine too it and slipping the sheathed Cerinian sword Saber had left onto his back, followed by the pack. It took him a little bit to locate his holster and blaster, nearly falling as he crouched to retrieve from a foot locker. After he had strapped it on, he moved back to the living area to leave, only to be stopped by Sabrina and derrick, on their way back from grabbing groceries.

"Fox!? What are you doing with all that stuff!?" he smirked to them, stepping right past them.

"I'm going after them. you can join me if you want." They stared dumbly at each other before Sabrina rushed to the counter, dropping the grocery bag there. "just catch up to me, alright? There's a shuttle at the Star Fox pad you can use to get up to the 'Fox. I'll message you the details." They nodded and Fox left, quickly marching into the elevator, pain be damned. As he waited for the elevator to go down, his right leg gave out on him again, forcing him to clutch the hand rail for a minute before he regained feeling. He barely even realized he was sweating buckets at this point. By the end of the ride, he was back on his feet, and marching out into the street. It didn't take long for a taxi to stop, fox so focused on the task at hand that he barely noticed the trip to the space port, almost forgetting to send Derrick the access information for the landing pad. He entered his code at the private entrance, the two security guards paying absolutely no attention to him as he moved through, feeling the numbness in his left leg going away. his right however, seemed to not be changing at all. He shoved it off, quickly finding will's Arwing and climbing in. it took him a second to familiarize himself with the digital control panel, but with in minutes, he was soaring through the air, unable to help but smile at the feeling of flight. As he approached the Great Fox, he input a code into his comms panel, the hanger bay opening as the ship began powering itself up. The hanger was clean and well kept, four brand new gen three Arwings landed on their clamps, ready to go. It took almost no effort to land the fighter in the hanger, smiling as he made his way through the familiar halls of the ship, wincing as he sat in his command chair. Rob was on the bridge too, typing commands into one of the consoles as he brought the ship online.

"Detecting emergency beacon, Star Fox Frequencies, coordinates, Altair system" Fox cursed, recognizing the system name that Cerinia was in.

"Send a message to General Hare, we need a gate to the Altair system." A sigh slipped out as his right leg flared up for a second. _Sabrina, Derrick, get your asses up here right fucking now!_


	27. Shock and Awe

Wolf tapped the release for his canopy, about to shut the fighter down when his comm system lit up.

"Wolf! We got an emergency beacon, Star Fox frequencies. It's coming from the Altair system!" Wolf stared at his comms panel, absolutely confused.

"Why would we have a ship in the Altair system!? There's nothing out there except the remains of a dead star!" his mind raced through different possibilities when Falco's voice came over the comm system.

"Uh… the Altair system….. it…. that's where Cerinia used to be. Fox and Krystal went there after the Aparoid war. So Krys could pay her respects to the dead." Wolf took a deep breath, trying to think through all the different possibilities. _It could be a trap. Altair is only a light year or so away, not a long flight, unlike the Sol system. Few hours tops once you break from the system's gravity well. Those few hours could be enough to annihilate an assault force. But if that's a genuine distress call, we might end up too late to help anyway. I know Mira is in the Sol system, it's perfectly possible they gated her out there. The question would be why?_ Wolf was opening his mouth to speak, but was too late, Riley suddenly keying up the comm system.

"Being hailed by the Texas, says she is doing an emergency jump to the Altair system, will take them about twenty minutes to arrive, but they will be vulnerable to attack on arrival. They are requesting we help escort." Wolf smirked, instantly speaking.

"Roger that, tell the Texas to hold fast for fighter recovery to complete. Out." He powered the ship down, part of him curious as to how they were going to make the jump that short. Then again, the Lincoln had made a jump between the Sol and Lylat systems in less than a day before, as far as he knew. Must've been the same type of system. He waited in his fighter, a pair of the deck hands giving the ship a once over and refueling the weapons and power core, giving Wolf a thumbs up. Shortly after, his fighter was lifted onto the deployment rack, ready to launch again. It didn't take long for the other fighters to arrive, the return bay sealing as the ship gently vibrated, changing direction to link up with the Texas. The intercom blared out, gaining Wolf's attention.

"Alright, word from the Texas, we will end up a few thousand clicks away from the Texas at the end of this jump. There is a strong likely hood we will be off course, these transwarp jumps have not been refined enough for system to system accuracy. Jumping in five, four, three, two, one." There was a massive shudder before Wolf was slammed into the side of his cockpit, hearing things being cast about in the hanger below. All the while, the ship was rocking and vibrating as if they were grinding along the surface of a planet. _God damn! I hope this girl holds together!_

* * *

I rolled out of bed, not even really sure why I was awake. The room was dead silent, not bothering with turning the light on as I dressed, strapping my blaster holster back on, only for the door to snap open, filling the room with light from the hall. Harrison marched in, a smile on his face. I returned the smile, stepping over to him and shaking his hand in greeting.

"hey Admiral. Got something new for me?" he shook his head, tossing his hat on the bed before slumping on to it himself.

"Not today ghost, just looking for a chat is all." I smirked, dropping into the office chair at the desk, spinning it to face him.

"Seems like a rare thing to do around here. Come on man, you always got a reason for visiting, what's going on?" Harrison smirked, sitting up on the bed.

"I noticed you seem a little…. Well… better, lately. Happier. Not clean shaven still, but at least your bathing again." I shrugged, thinking back to the memory I had been thinking about of late. I opened my mouth to speak, only for a red spinning light to fill the room, alarms ringing across the ship.

"All hands, Battle stations, repeat, all hands, battle stations! Great Fox confirmed in orbit, breaking for the debris field!" I was instantly on my feet, damn near shouting at Harrison.

"Is the Wraith ready to fly again?!" Harrison nodded, a glint of emotion in his eyes I couldn't place. I tried to shove that aside as I sprinted from the room, heading for the hanger bay. It didn't take me long, shooting up the ladder and dropping into the Wraith's cockpit. Techs pulled the ladder away as I fired the craft up, watching as the power levels climbed high enough for full operation before closing the canopy and strapping in. I ignored the radio as I lifted the throttle, causing the ship to lift off the deck before I let the throttle return to normal, followed by slamming it forward. The ship hesitated for a second it's own weight holding it back as the Ion engines blasted out power, the G-Diffusers angling back to force the craft forward. In seconds, I was in space, seeing the silvery speck that was the Great Fox disappear into the debris left by the destroyed planet we were orbiting. I brought the weapon systems and shielding online as I rocketed toward their last known location, watching as the hundreds of kilometers ticked away at an insane rate, faster than any craft I had ever flown could attain. I'm coming for you, McCloud. That thought slipped out of my mind as I entered the debris, seeing the Great Fox ahead of me, still a few dozen clicks away. it was using tractor beams to move asteroids out of the way, and back into place, preventing the emperor's flagship from directly engaging the ship, and creating a literal maze for fighters to have to get through. it was an environment perfect for a guerrilla style fight, picking an opponent off one by one. Too bad for them, that this one fighter could paste all of them in one pass. I was moving to start slipping past the asteroids when warning alarms rang out, sensor blips appearing amongst the asteroids.

"Retribution to Wraith, multiple ships dropping out of warp, several impacting asteroids. One human corvette alive, four squadrons of fighters operational. Tomcats and tridents, nothing special. One unknown contact, deploying Wolfens and Arwings. Permission to engage, granted. Retribution, out." I grinned as I angled in on one of the Tomcats, a small burst from the dual rotary guns vaporizing the small craft, most of the fighters ducking into the asteroids. Now this is just fun.

* * *

Krystal took a deep breath, trying to focus her mind, feeling if anyone was still on board the ship. she let the breath out in a relieved rush when she found no one else on board, smiling.

"We're clear Mira." Mira nodded in the cramped and dark space, rotating so she could kick the panel blocking them in out. One solid kick and it was clattering to the deck plating, allowing her to be the first to crawl out. She was still wearing Will's bulky combat vest, and a grey sleeveless shirt. There were traces of red dust all over her, especially on her black and grey splotch camo cargo pants and black boots. Krystal was wearing loose jeans and a teal T-shirt, a faded band logo on it. she also had her tactical rig on, blasters, ammo for her submachinegun and staff all on her, the submachine gun balanced loosely in her hands. Fay followed her out, her light grey military cargo pants, stuffed into boots, clashed with the darker grey T-shirt and white jacket she was wearing, a blaster and tools hanging off her belt, carbine in hand. Mira had loosely tied her hair back, a single hair tie at the base of her neck controlling it. meanwhile, Krystal had her hair in a tight bun to keep it out of the way, Fay a tight pony tail. She watched the other two as Fay helped Mira get into one of the crates, pulling Will's blast rifle out and the small assault pack Mira was carrying for medical supplies.

"Krystal, is there any chance at all that Lou survived?" the memory from just minutes ago flooded her mind, glancing at the deck plating where he had been standing. There was a sizable pool of blood where he had collapsed from the shot, the sudden flare of pain, and the subsequent snuffing of his life still sharp in her mind. She shook her head, Mira instantly speaking. "Alright. We need a way to find information, and a way to safely escape this boat. Ideas?" Krystal looked up at Mira as she spoke, noticing a fiery determination in her eyes that Krystal was not used to seeing.

"Yeah, find me a security terminal, we can get a layout on the ship from it, maybe some clues as to where to go." Mira nodded at Fay's words, her focus shifting to Krystal, opening her mouth to speak, but Krystal was faster.

"On it Mira." She focused her mind again, finding two life signs above them. Judging by what she felt off them, they were two bored security guards, sitting in a security station halfway up the hanger wall.

"Yeah, got a terminal, two guards. If I'm right, stairwell at the back of the hanger leads up to them, but they'll see us the second we leave the ship." Fay smirked before half diving into a crate behind her.

"Problem solved. These are personal cloaking units. They'll only be able to maintain a field for about thirty seconds at a time." She passed Krystal and Mira the hexagonal devices, Krystal watching as Mira took a deep breath, that fire in her eyes flickering for a second. Krystal could easily tell how scared she really was right now.

"Alright, Krystal, you have the silencer, get up those stairs and take out the guards. We'll be right behind you." She nodded, clipping the device to her belt before activating it, a blue field seeming to surround her, almost like a barrier. By the way Mira and Fay disappeared from her vision, she guessed the devices were working. She sprinted out of the ship, and right up the stairs, cringing at the amplified sound of her steps. The stealth field prevented the sounds from escaping it, causing sounds to be amplified inside of it, but unheard outside of it. she was up the stairs in a flash, but not quite fast enough as the field failed as she reached the top, flicking her weapon up and firing two pulsed bursts of rounds into the two apes, neither one getting a chance to react. The other two materialized beside her as Fay rushed over to the console.

"Alright I'm in, got the ship's layout….. there's a research facility on here, says 'off limits to all personnel'. I'd say that's as good a start as any." Mira nodded and gestured to lead the way, Krystal tight on their tails. They barely managed to navigate through the ship without being detected. After several minutes and more close calls than Krystal cared to count, a klaxon alarm sounded, causing them to freeze in place.

"All hands, Battle stations, repeat, all hands, battle stations! Great Fox confirmed in orbit, breaking for the debris field!" Krystal groaned, both relieved and annoyed. _Damn it Fox, why did it have to be you to respond to that distress call!?_ Before she could have another thought, Mira was ripping her down another hallway. They came around a corner, two guards straight ahead of them, too late to try and hide from them. Krystal was raising her weapon to fire, but she was too slow, Mira's rifle having popped up and fired two thick green bolts, tearing fist sized holes through the guards. All with Mira not missing a step.

"Right up a head, through that door they were guarding!" Krystal barely nodded to Fay, checking their rear as they slipped into a dark corridor. There were several cells on either side of them, simple iron bars and grated floors, with metal bed frames. No mattresses, no toilets, and by the smell, they had been occupied before. Krystal tried to shove the smell out of her mind, continuing down the corridor and through another door. They were nearly blinded by the white light of the room, a shriek from a female ape in a lab coat earning the woman a blast from Mira's rifle. Two more techs were scrambling across the room, to another door, only to be cut down by Krystal and Fay. The walls were covered with screens, one for every cell, a mainscreen dominating the short wall of the rectangular room. It had a desk in front of it with a comfortable looking chair, the area behind it filled with tools, from chemistry supplies to three dimensional printers, everything a scientist might need. Fay was instantly at the computer, her voice breaking the sudden stillness in the room.

"Huh…. Wasn't even locked….. These are the research logs. Most recent are all labeled 'Project Ghost'." Mira's head snapped away from the equipment at the word 'Ghost', Krystal feeling the thought that crossed her mind. _Ghost…. That was Will's callsign….._

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence Mira." Mira glanced at her, a pained expression on her face as the two moved over to beside Fay.

"This file is a lot bigger than the others. I think it has footage attached to it. here." Fay opened the file, only for audio to play out, the voice chilling all three listeners to the bone.

"Subject number two-two-five-seven-three. Attempt number twenty three. First, I must state, it is marvelous that after twenty separate attempts to dominate the subjects mind, his mind is very much so, still coherent. Most of my Cerinian subjects either died or lost their minds by the fifteenth attempt, and sooner in most cases, dependent on how successful previous attempts were. He is also the only non-telepath to have resisted in every single one of my attempts to gain control over the subjects mind. Then again, he is also the only subject to not have been aware of the process, or be… not agreeable to my orders, the cerinians excluded of course." The trio all glanced at each other, krystal feeling their confusion alongside of her own. "This most recent attempt shows great promise. Attached is a relevant video file, but he did follow most of my orders, and seemed compliant. The attempt only failed after completion of the order, and I believe this was due in part, to the orders itself. I believe a new approach is needed. A form of brain washing, instead of direct control. Harrison's natural compassion, as false as it may be, seems to have aided greatly in the progress I have made with the subject. End record." They all glanced at each other again, Mira nodding to Fay to play the file, apprehension filling all three of them. the file opened, Mira gasping as soon as the image appeared. It showed what looked almost like a starship bridge, converted into a throne room. One that was eerily familiar. But it wasn't the location in the footage that had caused Mira to gasp, but who was in it. Will was the focus of the image, aiming a blaster at the battered and beaten form of Fara Phoenix, Krystal recognizing her from Fox's memories, as well as her one meeting with the woman, brief as it had been. There was no sound, but Will seemed to be struggling internally, before finally firing, the trio of red bolts ripping clean through Fara. It seemed to cause him to snap, aiming up the stairs and offscreen before several white stun rounds lanced into him.

"W-Will….." the one pained whisper from Mira terrified Krystal, easily able to feel that it wasn't just fueled by the images on the screen. Krystal was about to move over to Mira, to try and comfort her when the ship was rocked, hard enough that the trio were slammed into the ceiling, landing on the deck in crumpled heaps. _What the hell was that!?_

* * *

Fox ducked and dodged through the asteroids, chasing the Raptor like fighter to seemingly no avail. It was decimating the Tomcats and Tridents that had showed up right in the nick of time, the corvette that had survived dropping from Warp in the asteroid field having been obliterated. He had watched craft after craft unload entire payloads into the fighter, not even scratching it. and it was so fast and maneuverable, there was absolutely no escaping it. Fox cursed, the dogfight with the craft having only lasted seconds, so far, and nearly two whole squadrons had been destroyed by it

"Falco! How far out are you from this guy?!" Fox shouted into his radio, nearly slamming into an asteroid as he tried to rudder around it, his right leg feeling far weaker than it should.

"Right behind you Fox! You sure you're good to fly buddy!?" Fox snarled, wanting to snap at him, but knowing it was wrong.

"Don't worry about me, we gotta stop that ship! How's the Wolfhound!?" Wolf was the one to respond as Fox rolled around an asteroid, managing to hit the ship with a linked blast in the split second he had to see it.

"Tangoing with that cruiser! But she is out of her league! She was never designed for a straight up fight!" Fox silently cursed to himself, that curse becoming verbal as the enemy fighter suddenly flipped and shot toward him, Fox nearly being smashed apart by the fighter, and nearly slamming into an asteroid to avoid it. Green bolts flashed by in innumerable amounts as Fox corkscrewed, slamming his throttle forward and back to vary his movement. The powerful plasma blasts stitched across the face of an asteroid, blasting tons worth of debris away from the rock. Fox suddenly stopped rolling, rolling the opposite way as he pitched, finding the enemy fighter facing him, and matching speed while moving laterally. Fox panicked, slamming his feet on the rudder pedals, at what seemed to be the perfect time, as twin white lances ripped at his eyes, heat alarms going off in his fighter as his shields nearly dropped out from the near miss. _How does one fighter have so much firepower!_

"McCloud! You are going down you son of a bitch!" Fox's eyes widened as he recognized the voice spilling out of his speakers, narrowly dodging a pair of missiles the craft had fired toward him. _Will! That…. That doesn't make any sense!_

"Will!? Is that you?!" Fox's voice cracked as he switched his comms to an open frequency, narrowly dodging another powerful burst of fire.

"Damn right it is! I'm going to kill you for what you did you piece of shit!" Fox panicked, just trying to stay out of the craft's devastating line of fire. There was an explosion behind him, a missile fired by Falco slamming into Will's fighter. Several more Wolfens and Arwings swooped in from different angles, all of their shots glancing off shields. Fox was still bringing his fighter about when Will returned fire, Fox watching in horror as Derricks fighter splintered apart, Sabrina's anguished cry filling the radio. Not even a second later, Will's fighter had rolled out of Miyu's fire, firing another one of the power beam shots into Sabrina's easy to track Arwing. It detonated as the beam hit it, leaving nothing but dust. Fox snarled and opened fire himself, finding his shots missing as the ship bounced straight up, shooting off to follow a Wolfen. IFF marked it as Leon, who desperately tried to shake the fighter, but to no avail as a burst of nearly twelve missiles ripped away from Will's wings, the missiles converging on Leon from several sides, pulverizing his fighter.

"Leon!" Fox could hear the pained shout from Wolf, his and Panther's Wolfens lining up on the fighter, only for a stream of green bolts to shred Panther's fighter, the burst tearing a G-Diffuser off Wolf's and sending him spiraling out of control. Fox shot after Will's craft, pounding blast after blast into the ship. _I have to stop him! I don't know what's going on, but I cant let this happen!_ Fox felt tears stinging his eyes as he chased down his friend, who seemed to be just toying with Fox before he suddenly flipped his fighter around, heading in reverse at the same speed he had been moving. Fox peeled up and left, a Tomcat following Fox being obliterated by the burst of fire Fox had managed to dodge.

"I'm ending this! I'm sorry guys!" Fox heard Miyu's call, barely seeing the Phoenix streak in and slam into the fighter, spraying parts and debris around like confetti as her reactor detonated against Will's ship. amazingly enough, his fighter was singed but still intact.

"Stupid bitch! I'll be back you bastards!" Fox was shocked as the craft darted away, a few of Fox's plasma blasts hitting armor, but the craft seemed as durable as it's shields, and still insanely fast, even if it was now flying sluggishly. Fox brought his fighter to a stop as he watched the fighter limp away, absolutely shocked. _There's no way that was him…. it…. it just cant be!_ He wouldn't do this! as that thought crossed his mind, the Wolfhound in the distance flashed out of existence, overwhelmed by the shear power of the larger ship.

"Hang in there guys, cavalry is here!" Fox recognized the voice of the Texas's comms officer as a yellow lance ripped across space, seemingly from nowhere, to glance off the cruisers shield with enough force to shove the nose several hundred meters downward, just before the Texas appeared from warp, every gun it had trained on the equal powered ship.


	28. H

I scowled as I set the damaged craft down on the rack for it, angrily unstrapping myself from the seat before leaping out, leaving the craft running for the technicians to look over it. Admiral Harrison was waiting for me, that same expression on his face as when I had left. He beckoned for me to follow him, speaking as soon as I was close enough.

"There are intruders on the ship, the Emperor wants you on the bridge with him, for security purposes." I nodded, still seething in anger at not being able to annihilate Star Fox.

"They better leave Star Fox for me. I owe those bastards for having Mira killed." The expression on the ape's face intensified, myself beginning to recognize it as pain.

"Ghost. Isn't your name. Your name is Will. Remember that?" my anger seemed to evaporate in a second, confusion replacing it. My feet had stopped with my anger, Harrison taking a few more paces himself before stopping.

"Wh-what did you just say?" Harrison smiled at me, gesturing for me to follow him.

"Your name is Will. Remember that. Now come, the emperor is waiting." I nodded, something about that phrase seeming familiar, as if I had heard it before. I shrugged it off, heading for the bridge.

* * *

Mira groaned as she picked herself off the floor, making sure she still had a good grip on the rifle. The lights in the room were flashing and sparking, a spinning yellow emergency light filling the room. The console they had been using was sparking, the keys burnt as it had shorted out

"Fay, Krystal, are you two alright?" Krystal groaned as she rolled over and sat up, clutching the side of her head. Fay was on her side, pushing herself up off the floor with her elbow.

"I'm good. Ow. Just a little shaken. Any idea what that was?" Fay kept her voice quiet, Mira shaking her head as the trio got back to their feet.

"No idea. But we should keep moving. Next best bet?" Fay opened up the PDA dangling on her belt, flicking through the ships map.

"The bridge maybe? We could pull the nav charts, see where the ship has been." Mira nodded, checking the charge on the rifle as she responded.

"Alright, lead the way Fay." Fay nodded and moved to the second door in the room, away from the cells. She was still steps away from it when it flashed open, two armored apes stepping in the second it did so. Fay dived to the side, clearing Mira's field of fire, one small movement of her thumb switching the weapon off of the overcharged setting and onto full-auto, her burst catching both of the soldiers as she back pedaled, moving for the counter to use as cover. Several more soldiers stepped in, getting cut down as quickly as the first two, the combined fire of the three of them being too much for the squad to handle. Red bolts lanced through the door, trying to keep them from exiting. Before Mira could stop her, Krystal had darted forward, pulling her staff out for a blue hued shield to flow away from the bulbous end, reflecting the plasma shots into the grey metal walls. Mira followed her out, Fay, hot on her tail. There were only two soldiers left to the squad, both panicking as their shots ricocheted off the shield, only to be blasted by Fay and Mira as the shield passed them.

"Well, they definitely know we're here now. safest way to the bridge is going to be through one of the hangers. Keeps us out of these narrow hallways." Mira nodded to Fay, following as she took off down the hall.

* * *

"All ships, provide supporting fire, we have dropships moving to invade that ship! could have vital intel! Do not let the enemy destroy a single dropship!" Fox heard the radio call as he accelerated out of the asteroids, green bolts ripping out behind him as the Great Fox blasted it's way out. Twin green lances slammed into the enemy ships shielding, reflecting off. Damn, that ship's shielding is as tough as nails! A pair of wolfen like fighters tried to intercept him, Fox cutting one down, a missile from Falco blasting the other apart.

"Alright Star Fox, you heard the man! Cover those dropships, tear those guns off that ship!" He glanced around him, seeing the single wolfen, Falco's interceptor, and Katt's Arwing being the only three ships left from Star Fox or Star Wolf. A small groan slipped out, hoping at least one of the casualties from that brutal fight was still alive. He rammed his throttle forward, taking a few minutes to reach the main fight, plasma blasts from the Texas starting to rip through the enemy flagship's shielding, tearing away weapons batteries by the dozens. But, at the same time, the enemy ship was punching through the Texas's shielding, burning it's hull. Amazingly enough, the weapons fire was doing nothing more than leaving blackened burn marks on the hull. He shrugged that aside, focusing on intercepting fighters. Not one of the fighters was a cheap strike fighter, as he had been expecting. Instead, it was a swarm of wolfen like ships and invader mark three's that had been modified as shielded bombers. He swung his fighter after a pair of the invaders, his linked blasts blowing one ship apart, the force of the payload detonating rocking his ship. he cursed as his shielding lost some integrity, the second bomber trying to juke out of his sights, but to no avail, Fox watching it splinter apart. A curse slipped out of Fox's mouth as he nearly collided with a UEC dropship, watching it splinter apart behind him as a pair of the wannabe Wolfens destroyed it. he cursed, bringing his fighter around and opening fire the second he was in range, watching one of the wing pair fall to pieces.

"This is Pegasus leader, I got two dropships landing in one of the aft hangers! Watch you fire folks! I don't want to get cooked by our own birds! Reporting active firefight in the hanger!" Fox was stunned for a second, knowing none of the other dropships had made it yet. _Krystal, please be okay in there!_

* * *

Mira slid to a stop after her furious sprint to a parts crate, her muscles screaming in agony as red plasma bolts ripped dangerously close by her. they had made it to the hanger Fay had intended to cross, only to find it filled with enemy soldiers setting up defenses against boarding parties. Now those same soldiers had pinned their tiny party down, and as far as Mira could tell, they were about to be killed. She popped up and fired a burst, only to be slammed back down as a plasma round hit her chest. Mira saw stars from the impact, her breath completely gone. She sucked a breath back in as Fay slid over to her, trying to beat a fire on her chest plate out. Mira panicked, yanking the ripcord on her armor, so it would fall apart, and tossing the burning vest piece away.

"You alright Mira?" she nodded, rolling onto her chest before rising to a crouch, the black plate slipping out from under her pack as she did so.

"Glad I was wearing that armor. we need to move, they are going to pin us down and flank us!" As Mira spoke, the hum of engines filled the hanger, a rapid thumping sound accompanying the engines. The amount of fire they were under suddenly dropped off, Mira peaking up to see the shouting apes shifting their fire to a pair of human dropships, their nose mounted anti-infantry cannons blasting groups of soldiers apart. Both dropships deployed a dozen or so friendly infantry, who instantly spread out, unloading their magazines at the enemy to gain fire superiority, before picking up and pressing forward, easily rolling up the entire force that had been in the hanger. A couple of the infantry took hits, but all were armor hits. Mira instantly joined their assault line, firing on any soldier moving in a small arc ahead of her, just as Will had taught the team after the war had started. The weapons fire petered out as the last of the apes were finished off, a familiar bulky frame trotting over to her.

"Mira Marshall, in the flesh. Damn you are a welcome sight! Glad you are alright!" Mira loosely hugged the armored form of Ramirez, even though she barely knew him.

"Well, this is twice now I owe your ass. We're on our way to the bridge, could use your help." Ramirez nodded and gestured for her to lead the way, shouting at the room afterwards.

"Team one, on me, team two, secure this hanger for more boarding parties!" Mira trotted after Krystal and Fay, keeping her weapon raised as they moved through the halls, using a series of stair cases to move up. Ramirez insisted on taking the lead up the stairs, his troops cycling through, one covering the stairs, one moving up the next flight. Halfway up, blaster fire began raining toward the team, but it was almost instantly cut off, weapons already being aimed where the attack had come from. They took more fire at the top of the stairs, one of the grenadiers firing a grenade into the ceiling, collapsing it into the hall. Four of the soldiers stayed there, trading shots with the enemy to keep them pinned. It didn't take Mira long to arrive at the door to the bridge, an eight man enemy squad causing a short firefight, but the overwhelming power of the human rifles and automatic weapons ripped the enemy team apart. _No wonder Corneria was losing this war. Human soldiers are devastating on foot_ _._ That thought slipped through her mind as she stacked up beside the door, Ramirez across from her and ready to trigger the door switch.

"You sure you don't want one of us as point man?" Mira violently shook her head, her entire body quaking in fear. He nodded to her, showing himself as ready, Mira taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. She looked the darker skinned human in the eye before nodding once, Ramirez slapping the door switch. The door slid open, Mira stepping into the room almost simultaneously.

* * *

My hands shifted their grip on the blaster in my hands as I waited, half on the throne like stairs of the bridge, my focus totally on the door. There were two other soldiers in the room with me, and the weapons fire outside had gone silent. All three of us were aiming for the door, waiting for it to open. I nearly jumped when it did, a brown and tan form flashing through the door well beyond any living persons reaction time, as if they had been the door opening. I was instantly squeezing the trigger, my first two shots hitting a white form that had been stepping into the door, another bolt joining it from one of the soldiers. Both of the soldiers dropped as I continued to fire, trying to track the first to enter. One of my shots hit the door panel, the door flashing shut again, leaving the first to enter as the only one to enter. But whoever they were, they were a great shot, two well placed shots having dropped the two soldiers almost simultaneously with her entering. She was aiming at me when my fifth shot struck home, right down the barrel of her weapon. She must've fired at virtually the same time, the weapons barrel blasting out, and the woman slamming to the floor as she dropped the ruined weapon, my sixth shot grazing her arm as she fell. The second she hit the floor, she had a pistol drawn and trained on me, but she didn't fire. And even though I had the sights of my weapon trained on her unarmored chest, I didn't fire either. _why am I not dead yet, she should have hit me by now with how fast she got that blaster up?_

"Drop your weapon! Now!" I took a step forward as I shouted. The woman's eyes fixed on me, a mixture of shock and pain filling them. She was Hybrid as near as I could tell, between a vulpine and a feline, her muzzle shorter and wider than a vulpines, and yet still vulpine like. She had a bushy vulpine tail and sharp, angular ears, most of her feline features showing more in her color pattern. Her hair fell down to her shoulder blades, most of it disheveled and tangled, and yet, eerily familiar.

"Will?" her voice was quiet, gentle in a way. She was clearly terrified, and yet, there was a trace of hope in that one word.

"I said drop the weapon!" she released the weapon with one hand, using both hands to start getting back to her feet. "Don't fucking move!" she froze, staring up at me at the shout, my feet shuffling forward with my shout. Now that I was closer, I started to pick out details about her, she had deep sapphire blue eyes, making me hesitate. She looked like she was about to break down crying.

"Just shoot her already Ghost! There are more outside the door!" I ignored the white furred ape behind me, my attention entirely focused on the girl before me. Her fur and clothes were covered in red dust, clearly not from the ship. Her clothes were blackened and coated in carbon, showing several near misses from plasma rounds. She started to move again, slowly moving to stand.

"Don't fucking move! Are you stupid or something!?" I stuttered forward again, my finger tightening on the weapons trigger.

"Will…. It's me….." I could see tears beginning to slip out of her eyes, freezing for a second. _Why is she crying? This doesn't make any sense, she's my enemy, why haven't I shot her yet!_ I slowly released the trigger, not stopping her this time as she stood, leaving her own pistol on the floor. "Will… s-stop. Please. It's me." Her voice was quiet, pained, to the point that it was stinging my own eyes. _How is this girl effecting me so much!? I need to just shoot her already!_

"Who the fuck are you, and how do you know my name!" I shuffled forward yet again as I shouted. My shouts were clearly terrifying her, but she stood her ground, tears now freely flowing down her face. I was barely more than an arm's length away from her now.

"It's me Will, Mira!" my finger tightened on the trigger again visibly freezing her in her tracks. A flash of Mira in the hospital tried to dominate my mind, still as strangely vague on details as my other memories of her.

"Mira is dead. She died in my arms eight months ago!" Her eyes widened in shock again, one of her feet moving to step forward again. "Stop!" my voice cracked this time as I shouted, for reasons even I didn't know. A tear leaked out of my eye as I fought to not slip into my memories, trying to ignore the moments flashing through my mind, to no avail. "Mira is dead." The woman's tears seemed to double at my words, confusing me even more. _Why is this bothering her so much! Why can't I shoot her!?_

"Oh, just shoot the bitch and be done with it already!" I shot a glare over my shoulder as the Ape lazily lounged in his throne. As lazy as the position seemed, I could tell something had him on edge. I tried to not pay attention to the ape, but something was making me want to do as he said, despite my body seeming to rebel against me. _Do you really want to shoot someone who's crying? That can't be the right thing… she isn't even armed…._

"Will, I'm not dead. I'm right here! Just lower the gun! Please!" I could hear the pain and desperation in her voice as she spoke. She took a step forward with her words, her hands out stretched, myself re-raising the weapon I hadn't even realized I had let lower, dancing back at the same time.

"Prove it!" I had no idea why I was even giving her the chance, something stirring in the back of my mind that I couldn't quite bring to mind. she froze as I spoke, tears still leaking out of her eyes. But her expression changed, from one of pain and fear to hope. Beyond her, sparks began to shoot off the door, someone starting to cut through it. A small smile crossed her face, slowly starting to step forward again. I danced back yet again, glancing at the graze on her arm, a few small streaks of blood leaking out of the minor wound.

"Your name is Will. William Hawkins. We met nearly a year ago, and I nearly died two months ago." something about what she said, the phrasing of it, struck a chord in my brain. I couldn't place what though. "We are pilots, both of us. You are my wing mate, with the Star Fox team." I glanced at her eyes, finding my eyes suddenly fixed to her's. They were the same vibrant and deep sapphire color as Mira's, seeming to plead with me as much as her voice. _Those eyes though….._ My brain froze for a second, having to fight down more memories.

"Damn it, I order you to shoot her, now!" I glanced back at him, feeling a strong impulse to do what he said. I tightened my finger on the trigger, stopping just as I reached the point where the trigger hardens, just about to fire. Her expression faltered, glancing at the weapon in fear. But it didn't stop her from taking another small step forward. _I…. what if this really is her?_

"Will, if you have to shoot me, shoot me. No matter what, I will never leave your side." She was still crying as she spoke, her chest just inches from my weapon. Although I could still tell how scared she was, and tears were still flowing from her eyes, she was standing proud, as if there was no weapon being pointed at her. Tears flooded out of my eyes because of her words, a memory floating up of myself saying nearly the same thing to Mira. I released the trigger entirely, the weapon dipping down as a strange impulse seemed to take over for, my mouth moving without me commanding it.

"My name is Will…." The quiet whisper seemed to cause Mira's face to light up before me, the phantom of a memory floating into my mind.

 _"your name is Will. Mira is still alive. You will need to remember this but not now. your name is Will."_ I could not place the voice, no matter how hard I tried, but along with it came a sledgehammer of memories, all of Mira, of the woman now standing in front of me, to dancing with her on Corneria, our walks around the city, watching movies with her, falling asleep with her in my arms, our first kiss, nearly losing her on fortuna, and again on Katina. All of them, the same woman that now stood before me, filthy, covered in carbon, dust, and sweat, with those eye's that I never forgot. Tears freely flowed down my face, unable to stop them. _It's her….. It's really her…._

"Mira….. I….." my quiet voice froze in my throat as the weapon dropped limply to my side. She was still sobbing, but a massive grin exploded across her face, instantly launching forward and wrapping her arms around me. I instantly did the same, pressing my face into the soft fur of her cheek. "Mira….. I'm so sorry." My words only seemed to make her cry even more, completely forgetting the world around me as I held on to her. A harsh angry voice brought me back to reality, causing anger to course through my veins.

"Damn it ghost! I ordered you to fucking kill her!" I double checked the safety on the weapon still tightly clutched him my hand, turning so my right side was facing Andross, still clutching Mira to me with my other hand.

"Just shut up you piece of shit." As I spoke, I raised the weapon, aligning the sight with his chest, slowly letting my breath out, and gently squeezing the trigger.


	29. Return

Krystal glanced at fay, seeing the medic tending to her wounds, four soldiers watching the approaches, while Ramirez cut through the door with a small plasma cutter. Two more soldiers were prepared to rush through that door as soon as they finished cutting through it. the last inch of metal seemed to take forever to cut as Krystal watched, not hearing any weapons fire on the other side. There was suddenly a single shot, just seconds before the door fell open. Ramirez stepped out of the way as his two soldiers stepped through, Krystal right behind them. there were two dead venom soldiers, as well as an ornately clad ape, and several bridge members, all with hands raised as the human soldiers leveled weapons on them. but the sight at the foot of the stairs caused Krystal to be instantly smiling, her weapon dropping onto her sling.

"Will!" her shout gained the couple's attention, who were currently locked in one of the tightest embraces she had ever seen. She rushed forward to hug both of them, but was startled when Will suddenly shoved both of them away. Krystal could sense a sudden flare of fear, right alongside a wave of regret powerful enough for it to bring tears to Krystal's eyes. Mira looked absolutely shocked at the sudden motion, a blaster in Will's hands clattering to the floor.

"Will?" Mira's quiet and shocked voice broke the silence as she stepped forward, Will instantly retreating away, much to Krystal and Mira's surprise.

"Stay away from me!" his voice was filled with pain and fear, making Krystal cringe. But it didn't stop Mira who tried to grab his hand.

"Will! It's okay! I'm h-" he jerked his hand away the second she touched him, staring at her in utter terror, something she never wanted to see on his face.

"It's not okay Mira! I killed them! i….." he stumbled back, tripping on one of the steps as waves of fresh tears began pouring out.

"Fara… Leon, Panther….. Miyu… I…. all those people above earth… I…. Fara… Fara was pregnant…" Mira had frozen in her tracks, Krystal finding herself covering her mouth. _How did he know that!?_

"W-Will. That….. that wasn't you. Oikonny, he… he was trying to control you! He made you do that!" she tried to step closer to him, Krystal just stunned into silence as she watched them. he tried to shimmy away from her again, causing mira to start crying even more.

"Stay away from me! Please!" Krystal could see the amount of pain he was in, barely noticing Ramirez approach, a set of plastic zip ties melded together to make plastic cuffs. Will seemed to notice him, instantly holding his hands together and towards Ramirez. "Please…. i…. don't want to hurt any of you…." She could see all of Ramirez's muscles contract for a second, staring at the zip tie in one hand, Krystal just now realizing he was holding a pistol by it's barrel in the other.

"Will, we are on an enemy ship, and totally out numbered." He tucked the zip cuffs back into his kit as he spoke. "We need every gun we can get in this fight. I'll arrest you when we are on the bird home." Will stared at the blaster in Ramirez's hands, Krystal recognizing that it was Will's, the one Mira had been carrying. He glanced up at Ramirez before standing and taking the blaster from him.

"I'll hold you to that Ramirez." He cycled the bolt on the weapon, ejecting one of the ceramic jacketed rounds the weapon used and catching it. "And if you don't, this round is going through my skull." Krystal could feel the sadness seeping from everyone around her, especially Mira as she helplessly watched these events unfold before her. Will glanced at her once, only while he stepped up to her and yanked a pair of spare magazines from her, walking away and not looking back.

"Mira… we need to go, Fay got hit pretty badly." Mira nodded, scooping up the blaster will had dropped earlier before pulling a small thumb drive out of her pocket.

"I'm getting the nav Data first. This trip isn't going to waste." Krystal sighed as she realized Mira had just buried all of the pain the past few minutes had caused, trying to do the same herself before following her off the bridge.

* * *

"This is Pegasus flight, leaving enemy capital ship, requesting covering fire! CCI on board, repeat, CCI on board!" Fox heard the radio call and breathed a sigh of relief, turning his fighter to engage a pair of fighters closer to the enemy hanger, needing to rudder just slightly right to hit his target. He moved his foot to use the rudder pedal, only for feeling in his right leg to drop out entirely, Fox cursing aloud. He quickly adapted, pitching and rolling the fighter to start firing, but it but him in a bad positon when the fighter began to juke away, Fox unable to follow as easily because of the roll. The fighter easily looped around behind him, making Fox curse again, just before a Wolfen ripped past his canopy, blasting the enemy craft apart.

"I guess I don't owe you one anymore Fox!" He smirked at the sound of Sheila's voice, feeling returning to his leg again.

"Thanks She, watch my back, will ya!?" he heard her acknowledge and dived after a bomber, watching it splinter apart, just before dancing his fighter around a cannon round. He found himself just meters away from one of the dropships and panicked, releasing the throttle to slam the holographic slider down that controlled vertical movement, and just in time, narrowly missing the dropship. He breathed a sigh of relief as the dropship shrank on his sensor board, undamaged by the near collision. Gotta be more careful! He narrowly ducked through a volley of broadside fire, silvery blue human bolts and red bolts crossing all around him.

"Jeez Fox, you coulda just flown a few meters higher, took the easy route!" he rolled his eyes at her joking comment, snaking onto a fighters tail. A short chase later and it was nothing but drifting scrap.

"All units, pull out, Dropships have been recovered! Repeat, all units, pull back, we are deploying a tac nuke to deal with this cruiser!" Fox gunned his fighter to the Texas, knowing it was a lot closer than the Great Fox, he nearly slammed into a tomcat as they both flew into one of the open hanger bays, the doors closing just after. Fox barely had time to set his fighter down on the deck plating when the ship was rocked, a view port in the hanger door filled with a brilliant white flash. As the flash cleared, he could see small bits of floating debris, a small sigh slipping out of his mouth.

"Texas control, this is Fox McCloud, were there any cornerian's aboard the dropships?" he waited a few seconds to power his fighter down, waiting for a response.

"That's an affirmative McCloud. They are headed to the medical bay," his heart leapt into his throat as he powered the craft down, leaping down to the hanger deck in the low gravity of the hanger, Sheila was climbing out of the wolfen as a field formed over the hanger door, allowing it to open without losing atmosphere. Fox stopped for a second, seeing a pair of dropships leave the ship, likely on pilot recovery. He shrugged the thought aside, rushing through the halls of the ship until he reached the medical bay, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Krystal there, unharmed. He stumbled slightly as he started walking to them, deciding running probably wasn't a good idea. It wasn't until he got closer that he realized that Fay was on one of the beds, Mira totally missing. Krystal looked up as he approached, instantly smiling and hugging him before he could speak.

"Fay's gonna be fine Fox." Fox released her just enough to look her in the eye.

"You know I still hate it when you do that right? Where's Mira and Lou?" Fox was shocked when she didn't roll her eyes at his comment, instead looking away, tears in her eyes.

"Lou's dead. He gave his life to give us a chance. And Mira…. She….. she's in the brig right now." Fox furrowed his brow as she spoke, opening his mouth to respond, only for her to continue. "We found Will Fox….." he sighed, able to simply feel how bad that had gone.

"He was the one in that overpowered fighter, wasn't he?" Krystal nodded, biting her lip before responding.

"He was but….. he wasn't the one in control…." Fox saw tears start to leak out of her eyes. "Fox, I saw some of the things that were done to him, some of the things they made him do….. fox….. he ….. they made him kill Fara too!"

"What!?" Fox was startled by the shout, looking over to see Wolf standing in the doorway, clutching his side. His eye had become the size of a saucer. "Who killed Fara!?" The startled voice was gone, replaced with pure anger, his eye narrowing to not much more than a slit.

"Wolf, calm down, it wasn't his fault!" Fox could hear the panic in Krystal's voice, instinctively stepping between Krystal and Wolf, physically shielding her from him.

"Who killed her?" his voice was much quieter this time, but none the less terrifying.

"Wolf, back down. Now." Wolf defiantly glared at Fox, towering over the vulpine as his fur began to stand on end.

"She was pregnant Fox. I am killing that bastard!" Fox's mouth fell open, unable to stop it. he barely heard Krystal mumble behind him.

"It was Will…. But he wasn't in control!" Fox could see Wolf's anger fall away for a second, replaced with pure pain. But that quickly disappeared.

"Where is he?" Fox could see every muscle in Wolf's body quaking with rage, slipping one of his feet back to get himself closer to his fighters stance.

"He put himself in the brig….." Krystal's whispered words caused wolf to turn on the spot, marching out of the medical bay, Fox sighing to himself. Cant stop him now.

* * *

Mira stared at Will through the bars of his cell, trying to piece together what was going through his head. _I guess if I had been forced to kill my friends, I'd be pretty shaken up too…_ he was sitting on the cot in the cell, staring at the floor a few paces in front of him.

"Will you don't have to be in here…" her voice was quiet when she spoke, Will's eyes looking up at her after she spoke. He looked distant, and utterly terrified, not being something Mira ever wanted to see from him.

"I do Mira. I killed my friends…. I don't know why I did… I don't know if this brain washing they put me through is gone or if one wrong word and I go on a mad killing spree! This is the best spot for me now! At the very least, it's where I deserve to be…" his last sentence was spoken much quieter than the rest, his eyes glancing at her bandaged arm before falling back down to the floor.

"Will, I'm not leaving your side. We'll figure this out. I promise." She saw tears start leaking out of his eyes, covering his face with his hands for a second. When he removed his hands, he suddenly seemed emotionless, as if he had stuffed it all away.

"You don't get it Mira. We are done. Just leave and never look back." Mira felt like her heart had just shattered into thousands of pieces, tears beginning to well up out of her eyes.

"Will…. I'm not going to give up on you…." He suddenly sprang to his feet, lunging to the front of his cell, a sort of fury in his eyes. She startled at the sudden movement, backing away from the bars.

"Don't make me tell you again. We. Are. Done." Mira couldn't help but sob into her hands falling to her knees as her legs seemed to no longer want to support her "now please, just go… I don't want to hurt you anymore than I have too…." his voice had dropped out again, a lot quieter now. she managed to look up between sobs to see him sitting back down on the cot, staring at the floor again as if that conversation hadn't happened. More tears creeped out of her eyes as she crawled up to the bars, sitting with her back against them as she hugged her knees to her, crying into them.

* * *

Wolf's feet pounded across the deck plating, completely forgetting the pain in his side as he stormed through the halls of the ship. it didn't take him long to find the brig, Will being in the first cell you found as you entered. The sight he saw on entering caused him to stop on the spot, his anger being sapped away. Mira was sitting on the floor by his cell, her back up against the bars as sobbed into her knees, Will sitting on the cot in his cell, staring at the floor a few paces away. He could still see the glint of tears on will's face. In an instant, Wolf's anger was back, ignoring everything around as he moved up to the cell, slamming his fist against the bars. Will wasn't even startled by the sudden noise and movement, which had caused Mira to fall onto her side with fright.

"You bastard!" Wolf expected the shout to entice some sort of reaction out of the human, but he remained to totally motionless, save his eyes closing.

"I'm sorry Wolf." His voice was barely more than a whisper, and filled with pain. But at this point, Wolf didn't care.

"I don't give a damn! I'm going to kill you for what you did to her!" he remained silent and motionless at Wolf's shout, only infuriating him more. "She was fucking pregnant will….." his voice dropped off as he said that, the flame of his anger seeming to dim for a second, overtaken by sadness as he said that aloud.

"I know Wolf…. i…. I knew….. I knew she was and it wasn't enough to stop me in time…." He saw tears start to flow out of Will's eyes, seeing the pain in every line of Will's body. _He must hate himself right now….._ Wolf turned around to walk away, only to find himself slumping up against the bars as well sobbing into his own hands.

* * *

Admiral douglas watched as damage and casualty reports flowed in, sighing at the number of pilots he had lost. Nearly half of his fighter wing was dead, two thirds of their fighters destroyed.

"Sir, you are going to want to see this…" he glanced up as his sensor officer spoke, who was busy moving his screen onto the captains holo-viewer. It showed a thermal image, alongside a type of electronic imagery that detected power sources, showing a massive spike of heat on the planet's surface, but barely any power in comparison. "I've already run it by the ship's AI. It estimates, given the condition of the planet, it would take a sizable number of bodies to create that kind of thermal reading. We're talking somewhere between twenty to thirty thousand people. Density and power distribution suggest an over congested prison, or an internment camp." He started at the two images, a sigh slipping out.

"Estimated defenses?" the officers response was nearly instantaneous.

"Maybe a company at most, no armor."

"Alright. Deploy ground troops using ODP's, gain control of that site." Various 'Aye-ayes' rang out from across the room, the view out of the view port shifting as the ship began to move.

* * *

Fox glanced down at the weapons case in his hand, utterly confused as to why he had been told to bring it to the brig. Ground troops had left the ship an hour or so ago, off to secure a site on the fractured planet below, Fox having no more information than that. It had taken him a while to locate the case, Mira having left it behind after her time in the sol system, for reasons Fox never learned, Derrick had grabbed it from the head quarters, leaving it on the Great Fox. A small sigh slipped out of him as he arrived in the brig, seeing Will exactly where he had left him when himself and Krystal had been by, still sitting on the cot in the exact same position. Mira was gone now, the entire reason for Fox's visit earlier to get help taking fighters back to the Great Fox, Wolf having dumped all the extra fighters on the Texas after Fox had been injured, including his Arwing and a couple of Wolfens.

"Will, I'm back, just like you asked." He glanced up at Fox before quickly looking away.

"Open the case Fox." He nodded, crouching on the floor so he could set it down, opening it as soon as he had to find the cleaning kit still in place. "Pull the tray with the cleaning kit out. Under it is a slot for my pistol. Should be a small box there." He did as Will said, nodding as he saw the box still in place.

"Yeah, it's still here." Fox plucked the velvet covered box out, curious as to what was inside, although he had a faint idea.

"That's yours now Fox. Make damn sure you use it before you lose the chance." He glanced at Will, puzzled, until he opened the box. His heart sank as he saw the ring, remembering Krystal telling him about Will having one.

"are you sure about this Will?" Will nodded and fox sighed, pocketing the ring before replacing the cases contents and sealing it. "Okay. Will…. Just….. take care of yourself buddy." He nodded, still, not looking at Fox.

"Fox… before you go….. the leader on that ship was Andross. Not Oikonny." Fox stared at him for a few seconds, shocked. "I don't know how, I don't know why, but he isn't coming back. I made sure of that." Fox took a deep breath and let his eyes close. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't think of anything he really could say.

"McCloud to the bridge, repeat, McCloud to the bridge!" Fox glanced at the ceiling and sighed, disappearing out the door. It didn't take him long to reach the bridge, a screen open on the Admiral's holotable. His mouth dropped open at what he saw, several bridge crew members in similar condition. The image was clearly a helmet camera of a large pin, sealed to provide air inside of it. inside were several crude tents, thousands of twig thin vulpines moving to the edge of the pin, most damn near naked. Those that still had fur, their fur had either turned white, or were various shades of blue.

"Cerinian's!?" Fox's eyes were wide as he stared at the images, one of the officers speaking.

"It looks like something out of the holocaust! Who would do this to these people!" Fox just watched in horror as more feeds appeared, showing thousands and thousands of people.


	30. Hard Landing

Fox dropped into his chair on the Great Fox's bridge, massaging his right leg. Where his left leg felt almost normal, his right still had that insane pins and needles feeling he had since waking up. Even the meds he had been on were barely scratching the feeling. It had been a few hours since the discovery of the internment camp on the planet below, no one really having any idea as too what to do about the massive number of people down there. There was enough room between the Great Fox and Texas to house the population for a short trip, but the cramped conditions would be as bad, if not worse than those on the ground currently. He glanced around the bridge, as his mind wandered, seeing that Krystal and Wolf were still there, the others having left. Mira hadn't been seen after helping move fighters back to the Great Fox, no one actually knowing where she was. And although Fox had a few ideas, he didn't feel like pressing the matter, knowing how badly shaken the girl likely was. As much as Fox tried to feel like it was, something about the situation just caused it to not bother him. he tried to pass it off as his old self trying to keep a cool head, but he knew that wasn't true. Yeah, he was angry about the death of several of his team mates, but at the same time, the only person among them he really knew was Fara, even Miyu only really being an acquaintance. Even still, he couldn't find it in his heart to blame Will for it. _it's just like Krystal said, he wasn't the one in control._ A sigh slipped out of him, Krystal's voice broke the silence of the bridge, her voice quiet.

"you're thinking about Will, aren't you?" Fox let his focus on her, a weak smile on his face.

"Yeah. it's hard not to. I don't blame him though. Not one bit. I just wish we could have secured some of that research data. Could probably help him with it." Krystal nodded at Fox's words, Fox knowing she was about to try to apologize. She always did when she was unable to help someone.

"Regardless of that, he hates himself right now." Fox startled slightly as Wolf spoke, almost forgetting he was there. He hadn't said a word beyond what was necessary since their confrontation in the medical bay, which honestly shocked Fox. In the months he had spent around the man, he had learned that he seldom stayed quiet around friends. It was one of the only ways to know he was one of your friends. The bridge fell silent again, fox closing his eyes as he silently cursed to himself. _If only we had found him sooner, he wouldn't be having to deal with this._ As that thought crossed his mind, the main holo-screen popped to life, announcing an incoming transmission.

"Rob, patch us in." the robot didn't respond, the screen changing to a video feed, on the bridge of a human ship. Fox recognized Admiral Douglas over on the Texas, instantly speaking when he saw him. "Admiral. What do you have for us?"

"First, we have Aid ships being prepped back at earth. Should be here within the hour, just waiting on their supplies to be loaded. Being gated in." Fox nodded, feeling a little relieved that they didn't have to worry about transporting a population of that size. "Also, we have been trying to dig into that navigation data your team recovered. As far as we can tell, you'll need a cypher to read it properly, all of the co-ordinates and trajectories are encoded. It was connected to a CIC network, with logs. As of a few hours ago, a ship reported in from Fachina. Our AI managed to get that much at least."

"Alright, sounds good. I'll take my team out there, see if we can intercept that ship, maybe pull something off it." the admiral held his hand up, clearly urging Fox to stop.

"First off, be careful. Ship is reported as a Vengeance class. Likely has a sizable escort force as well. Secondly, you should take a platoon of my men with you. Might help you for boarding that ship. And finally, about the team member you recovered, Captain Hawkins." Fox gulped, unable to not feel apprehension for the conversation to come. "By my reports, he is under medical watch for injuries sustained in enemy procession. There will be no official reports about what happened with him. The only reason he is still in my brig, is on his demand. Just say the word and I can transfer his care to you." Fox sighed, debating for a lot longer than he should have.

"No. keep him on the Texas. The Great Fox is about to be going toe to toe with superior numbers and a powerful ship. as of now, she will be unmanned. If she goes down with him in a cell, there would be no one to get him out. We'll hold fast until that platoon gets over here, But we will need back up, so as soon as those aid ships get here, come to within five light seconds of the planet and hold fast. We'll contact you if we need you. Anything else admiral?" the human sighed as well, slipping his patrol cap off and running a hand through is hand.

"Alright. I'll trust your judgement on this. Texas out." The video link cut, Wolf already on his feet and speaking.

"I'll go prep fighters, make sure we're ready to go." Fox nodded to him, Wolf darting off the bridge as Krystal stood as well, heading toward the door as she spoke.

"And I'll let the others know Fox." Fox remembered something as she spoke, instantly springing to his feet to follow her, if necessary.

"Krystal, wait…." She stopped and turned to face him, eyeing him curiously. Fox closed his eyes, using his hand to beckon her closer. No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, his heart was pounding away in his chest, so loudly that he could barely think. _Come on Fox, you got this. you've been shot at before, this'll be cake._

"Fox?" her voice had become quiet, a tinge of worry clouding it. Krystal was clearly much closer to him now, as he could feel the air move from her breath, able to smell her too, not the tang of metal and grease that usually permeated space craft. Even though he could still smell sweat and carbon off her from the fighting, she still smelled subtly like flowers, something he had always loved. He took a deep breath before opening his eyes, finding Krystal's worried face barely a foot away from his own. Even with her hair in a tight bun, a few of the strands having fallen out, and the spots of carbon from plasma fire coating her, she was still absolutely gorgeous to him. he smiled as warmly as he could to her, seeing her face light up with relief. Part of him was surprised that she didn't know what was running through his head right now, but even if she did, it wouldn't stop him. _Alright, come on, now or never._ Fox dropped down on one knee, the suddenness of the movement startling Krystal, who stooped over to try and catch him, her hands touching his shoulders, only to find a small velvet covered box just inches from her face, Fox having snaked it out of his pocket as he dropped to a knee.

"I know this is probably the absolute worst of times for this, but… I promised Will I wouldn't miss the chance for this so… Krystal, would you do me the honor of allowing me to be your husband?" he artfully opened the box as he spoke, his heart feeling like it had slammed into a brick wall, completely stopping as he waited for her to respond. At first, Krystal did nothing, said nothing, her face locked in an expression of surprise, Fox unable to tell if it was good or bad. Tears started to slip out of Krystal's eyes, a small, yet loving smile appearing on her face. Instead of speaking, as Fox not only expected but wanted, she dropped down onto her knees to bring them to the same level, pulling him into an embrace that not a thing in the universe could pry apart, Fox wrapping his own arms around her, a smile spreading on his own muzzle. "Not a very clear answer Krys." He chuckled after speaking, Krystal's laugh joining him, and causing his heart to soar.

"Yes! Of course I'll marry you dufas! I would have thought you knew the answer to that question by now!" Fox pushed her back just enough to be able to see her face, smirking.

"Hmm, and which one of us is the telepath again?" Fox chuckled as her gaze went sideways, grimacing.

"Right. Now you made me feel stupid." Fox just grinned, crossing the inch or so distance between their muzzles, giving her the softest most loving kiss he could manage. The grimace went away in an instant, a blissful smile on her face when Fox finally backed off again. He felt like he looked like an idiot, just sitting in front of her and grinning as he pulled the ring from the box, sliding it on Krystal's ring finger, which only made her smile more. "Well, as much as I want to spend the next few hours rolling around in your bed, we really need to tell the others about Fachina." Fox sighed, nodding to her before he stood, offering her his hand to help her stand.

"Yeah, I'll handle Falco and them. you just worry about Mira. You know where to meet me right?" she kissed the side of his muzzle before stepping back from him, smiling deviously at him.

"Duh. See you there Fox." Fox just watched as she turned and left the bridge, knowing she was playfully swaying her hips more than her norm. a small smiled crossed his face, closing his eyes for a second to try and burn the memory of this whole event into his mind, just before stepping off the bridge himself. _Thanks Will_ _._

* * *

Mira watched as the star field out beyond the viewport she was sitting in start to shift, the remains of Cerinia slipping out of her vision as the ship likely turned away from the planet. She barely even noticed this though, too busy running through everything that had happened over the past few hours, from Lou's death all the way up to Will's harsh words. Part of her was still shocked that he had seemed so angry at her. _You know he isn't actually angry at you, but himself. He's punishing himself. You've seen him do it before._ Mira's eyes closed as she groaned, her head slumping against the clear quartz. _Damn it, why does he have to be such an idiot!_

"It's Will. He's always being an idiot. Just seems to work in his favor a lot of the time." Mira startled at the sound of Krystal's voice, only looking at her for a second or so before her attention returned to space.

"Yeah, and I hate him for it." She knew that likely sounded a lot angrier than she was, but she really wasn't in a talking mood at the moment.

"no you don't." Mira grunted, hearing Krystal sigh as she moved closer to Mira. Mira could barely see the older woman lean up against the viewport frame, looking back at the rest of the room. "We're on our way to Fachina. Have a lead on another ship that might have the cypher we need, or maybe just usable data. We really don't know." Mira didn't respond, Krystal sighing after several seconds of silence. "Look, Mira, Will's going through a pretty traumatic thing right now. just give him some time. He'll be back to his usual reckless and moronic self in no time. I guarantee it."

"It's not that Krys. I'm… well, annoyed with him. he knows he can trust me, so why does he still shove me away!? he's being so stupid right now and punishing himself when none of it was even his choice!" Mira barely even realized that she had slipped out of the viewport, pacing back and forth as blue and red light began to flash across the room, marking the ship as having entered warp. "It's just stupid and he always does this! It's almost like he doesn't trust me at all!"

"Mira, he's terrified right now. he trusts you Mira, he doesn't trust himself. He has no desire to hurt you, but he probably thinks that one wrong word will cause him to start murdering friends for no reason. He's trying to protect you, as odd as it may seem." Mira groaned, stopping her pacing to sit up against the wall, letting her head fall back against it.

"Ugh, and he's being a fucking idiot about it!" Krystal laughed at that, earning a glare from Mira for it.

"Be that as it may, he'll come around. Eventually. Don't kick his privates too hard for it." Mira couldn't help but chuckle at that thought, glancing over at Krystal only to notice a small silver band on Krystals finger. In an instant, she was on her feet, grabbing her hand to inspect the familiar ring. It was the same small silver band with a sapphire gem imbedded in it that she had found in Will's weapon's cleaning kit.

"Where the hell did you get this Krystal!?" Mira's voice snapped out of her, suddenly angry that Krystal had taken something of Will's that Mira knew was important to him.

"It's okay Mira. Will gave it to Fox and Fox? Well he proposed to me a few minutes ago." Mira's anger instantly faded, throwing her arms around Krystal, who returned the friendly hug.

"That's amazing! I better at least be a brides maid at your wedding though." Krystal chuckled as the two split apart, starting to step back toward the door, but still facing Mira.

"Well neither of us of really thought that far ahead yet. You will be though. Promise. I'll catch you later, only dropped by to let you know about Fachina and all." Mira waved goodbye to Krystal, turning back toward the viewport after Krystal left the room.

* * *

Mira stepped onto the Great Fox's bridge, wearing a grey zip up jacket over her sleeveless shirt, a carbine from the armory slung over her shoulder. One hand loosely dropped down to her thigh, where Will's knife was still on her belt and holster rig. The others were all on the bridge, the ship having already dropped out of Warp above Fachina's moon. Being one of the farther out planets in the Lylat system, it had been a lot easier and faster to get the ship to it, although, by the groans and cracks she had been hearing throughout the ship over the past couple of hours, they had been putting a massive strain on the hull since entering Lylat's gravity well. Fox was standing by the main holographic terminal, a single human lieutenant and four sergeants listening to him.

"Alright, the Great Fox didn't fare as well as we were hoping on that jump. Rob's already got bots repairing the damage to the hull and super structure, but she will not be ready to fight for at least a few more hours. We have a long range contact, unknown vessel, roughly a kilometer and a half to two clicks long. we believe it to be the enemy vengeance class we came here for. We're currently using the moon as cover. we have some stealth pods Slippy cooked up ages ago, we're going to mount them on the human dropships, then see if we cant sneak onto that ship. any questions?" the soldiers around him shook their heads, all of them wearing full equipment already. "Good, Wolf, Sheila, Katt, and Falco, I want the four of you on standby here. If shit hit's the fan, you four are our backup. Got it?" Wolf and the others all nodded, allowing Fox to continue. "Mira, you'll take one of the dropships and two of the human squads, Krystal, you and I will take the other. Good luck people." Mira groaned, having originally hopped she wouldn't be boarding a ship again so soon. She followed the five humans out, barely paying attention as a pair of the sergeants introduced themselves to her. once in the hanger, she followed the two of them to one of the dropships, where eighteen soldiers were already waiting, fully geared up. A single hand motion from one of the sergeants and two squads of soldiers climbed up the back loading ramps, Mira taking one of the two end seats. Mira barely noticed the near three hour flight too, so lost in her own thoughts that she jumped when the pilots voice came over the intercom.

"Hang on fella's! This ride is gonna get bumpy!" Mira shook her head, checking that her weapon was ready as the ship rocked. A second later, she found herself thankful she had strapped in. the entire craft rocked as a mayday rang through the dropship. She had no idea what was going on, just before she was slammed into the frame of her seat, blacking out for a second. When her vision came back, she could feel what remained of the craft tumbling as it split apart across the center of the vessel. She vaguely recognized the interior of a ship hanger as what remained of her dropship tumbled to a crashing halt. More than one spot on her body was hurting, a ringing filling her ears. Her weight was entirely on her back, several of the troops around her stirring as she hit the release for her harness. It took her a second to notice the frantic buzzing in her ear, taking even longer to recognize it as Fox's voice as plasma bolts started ripping into the weakened hull of the dropship.

"Mira! Anyone! Can you hear us!" Mira tried to shake her head clear, staggering out of the busted open ramp, narrowly staying behind the ship's hull as she collapsed out.

"Mira here. We crashed in a hanger! Under heavy fire, casualties unknown!" she stuck her carbine around the corner, rapidly squeezing the trigger several times before tugging the weapon back. Several of the human fighters were starting to crawl out of the craft, returning fire on the sporadic troops beginning to assail their position.

"Alright, hang on! We're on our way!"

* * *

Fox glanced at Krystal for a second, watching as she fired a series of fire blasts from her staff, the flaming red bolts of energy far larger than Fox could have ever managed, engulfing the entire chest of each soldier she aimed for. She ducked back as fire shifted to her, Fox using the gap of fire on him to sprint forward, firing several blasts from his blast rifle as he moved further down the hall they were in. Krystal wasn't far behind him, using a shield wall from her staff to reflect bolts away from her.

"How far are we from the other hanger!" he shouted that across the hall to Krystal, who fired a pair of fire blasts again before responding.

"Too far Fox!" he cursed, a noise from the hall beside him gaining his attention, his weapon flicked up, but it was already too late. His heart dropped out, terror filling his mind as he was knocked onto his back by an angular purple creature, a single angular body supported by two pointed, feetless legs and a tail. _What is one of those doing here!_ He reacted by grabbing his pistol and firing, only for the rounds to reflect off, leaving small divots and burns on the creatures carapace. _Semi-reflective armor, what the hell!?_ Before the creature could assault him again, Krystal had leapt across the hall, positioning herself over him and swinging the spear point at the creature. It cut into it, causing it to shy back. Fox quickly crawled out from under Krystal, yanking Saber's blade off his back and charging forward, oblivious of the blood pouring from his forearm, the blaster fire around him, or the strange feeling in his leg. The only thought in his mind, was protecting Krystal. His first upward swing took one of it's legs off, his second downward one taking the head off, just behind it's concealed mouth. He was panting without even realizing it. the enemy fire died down around him as the human team pushed up to them, having finished off the venom soldiers while Fox was dealing with the creature.

"I… I…. What…." His voice was stumbling, tears slipping out of his eyes from the pain in his forearm, his right leg giving out on him again. But he barely noticed, still in total shock from what he had just fought.

"Come on, we're leaving. We'll come back for Mira. I promise." Fox nodded, even though he knew, deep down, now that Aparoids were involved, the chances of finding Mira alive were slim to none.


	31. Rush

Admiral Hawkins glanced up from the tactical holo table as the bridge door opened. A saddened smile crossed his face as he saw the white vulpine, one arm in a sling, the other managing a crutch, his entire left leg in a cast. He was covered in scrapes, only visible from the matting of his fur.

"Stazac, shouldn't you be in the med bay?" he shrugged, ambling his way to the table.

"Cant stand sitting there right now. besides, who's gonna figure out all of this data out without me?" he was holding up a small Cornerian drive with his good hand, Hawkins returning his smirk.

"Fine. Oracle, I'm tasking you to assist Mr. Stazac in what ever capacity he needs. Use my ready room for now, at least until we reach Orbital Station Shield." Vince nodded and crutched his way to the room, Hawkins sighing as he watched him.

* * *

"Will, get up!" I ignored the shout into my cell, not even bothering to pay attention to who it was. I just rolled toward the wall, trying to ignore them. "God damnit Will! Get the Fuck up you lazy piece of shit!" I rolled back over, just to glare through the bars of my cell, only to find Ramirez standing in the open doorway, a uniform in his hands. One light toss and the outfit was hitting me in the chest. "We have a mission, and I sure as shit aint doing it without you. Get dressed Hawkins." I made no movement to grab the clothing, just glaring at him.

"No." the one word response took Ramirez from merely annoyed to downright angry in less than a second.

"Will if you do not find your cajones, and get the fuck back on your feet, then I will personally beat you to a bloody pulp. Cause I know two things. One, You Love that gal Mira, and two, she is currently trapped aboard an enemy ship, crawling with soldiers and fucking Aparoids! So unless you want my next visit to you being to inform you that twenty one men and women have been confirmed as killed in action, including Mira, get the fuck up, and get fucking dressed." my mouth went slack staring at him for several seconds, his anger only seeming to grow more and more as he went from merely a loud voice to full on shouting.

"but..I…. if I go out there, I could kill you….. all of you! I don't know what they did to me!" his expression softened, but only a little.

"I don't know anything about that Will. All I know, is this plan we have is one of the craziest I have ever seen. No one does crazy and reckless better than you, and you are still one of the best foot soldiers I know. Besides, way I hear it, you broke whatever they did to you. Not once, not twice, but dozens of times. I don't give two shits what you think, but I still trust you. Got it?" I nodded, closing my eyes as a sigh slipped out of me. "Good. Let's get moving." I quickly stripped out of the old and filthy uniform I had been wearing, immediately slipping into the fresh one.

"What's this crazy plan of yours?" Ramirez smirked, all of his anger gone as he began to lead me into the ship.

"Mine, Pft, it's fucking Wolf's and Fox's brain child, not mine. You remember good ol' Maverick battle systems?" I nodded to him, quietly waiting for him to continue. "well, they listened to feedback on the Mark three's, we have some of the prototypes for the mark nine design. First viable design since the three's. Myself, you, and three others will use them to do an Exoatmospheric insertion onto the enemy ship. due to the destruction of the majority of the cruiser's escort force, there is a sizable debris field around the ship. Tricky to fly in, especially under fire." I raised an eye brow at him as he lead me into an arms room I had never been to, responding as we entered.

"How is a couple of Maverick battle armor suits gonna help us reach that ship. yeah, they got shields, but those mobility assist packages for them are weak, under powered." Ramirez smirked as he lead me past the multitude of weapons racks, right to the back of the bay, where the powered armor was stored. There were dozens of racks for the Mark Three armor system, the large bulky suits easy to recognize, but in one of the corners were five sets of armor, not much larger than a human frame. Each had the same glistening metal of corneria's high density space craft armor. the metal had always been too heavy to use for ground troops, due to it's incredible density, which is where it's strength lay. One of the only ships to be equipped with this armor was the Great Fox, it's powerful engines and superstructure able to make use of it.

"Meet Maverick's Mark Nine Personal High Mobility Battle suit. Each one comes equipped with a micro fusion core, high end magnetic selective shielding, micro ion engines, wrist mounted grapple and repelling lines, and half inch high density ablative armor. same shit that Arwings and Cornerian cruisers carry, in a small enough package that the user can fit anywhere a normal person can, and be out fitted with standard infantry armaments. I already got an M-thirty-seven and gear tricked out for you." I smirked, walking around of the silver suits, noticing the black mesh between the plating and at the joints, a sort of fiber armor. the helmet was much like an up armored flight helmet, but instead of a smooth polymer visor, it had an angular polarized visor, likely made out of the same rigid material used for view ports and canopy's. each one had ammo pouches around the waist, and the back looked bulky, almost as if it was permanently wearing an assault pack, likely housing the power system and main thruster.

"Not Familiar with the M-thirty-seven, never used one?" Ramirez grunted grabbing a weapon from one of the nearby racks. It had much the same structure of an M-thirty-two, but was much bulkier. The one he grabbed had a holographic sight and grenade launcher already mounted.

"Same as the three-two, just upped the caliber, thirty round mags still. Nine mill rather than six mill. Hits a lot harder. Now lets get you suited up." I nodded, accepting the weapon as techs started arriving, as well as three of members of Ramirez's team members, including Mills, who gave me a curt nod as he moved over to one of the other suits.

* * *

Mira fired several blasts at the creature approaching her, panicking as the bolts reflected off it's purple carapace, not doing much more than leaving small burns on it. she charged her weapon up as the creature continued to skitter toward her, unfazed by the weapons fire. The large red bolt her weapon discharged washed over the creatures body, burning away enough of the armor for Mira to pound a pair of blasts into it, a squeal announcing it's death. But she got no respite as plasm bolts started to rip past her again, firing several of her own in the general direction of them as she ducked down a different hall. There was a scream behind her, Mira glancing back to see several rounds pounding into one of the human soldiers, who was clutching his un armored shoulder. Several of the red bolts struck his chest plate, but most didn't, including one that tore into his face.

"Damn it!" she couldn't stop her shouted curse, a pair of hands grabbing her to pull her away.

"Come on! He's gone!" she begrudgingly followed, unable to stop the heavy weight settling on her chest. They were down to just three people. Herself, a wounded pilot, and the soldier supporting that pilot. She glanced behind her again as she followed, seeing three more of the armored creatures skittering into the hall they were in. she panicked, firing several rounds before seeing the panel for a bulkhead, blasting that. The door shot closed as the bolt fired the controls, crushing the lead Aparoid. Her entire body was trembling as she followed the shambling pair of soldiers, unable to calm her racing heart. _When will this end!?_ She grimaced as another thought followed that one. _Why don't I just give up? There's no way we are going to survive this…_

"hey, animal chick, you can fly right?" she glanced at the soldier before curtly nodding. "Alright, whadya say to taking the tramway over to one of the other hangers, jack their shit to get out of here?" Mira shakily nodded as he gestured with his hand, still limply clutching his rifle. "Alright, tram's that way. Ladies first. Let's hope they left the keys in one of their rides." She quickly stepped by him, not quite running, but moving as fast as she dared so not to leave them behind. The hallway's were eerily dark and quiet, unsettling Mira that she could barely see down them, even with her weapon light on. It didn't take them long to reach the tramway, only to find the bulkhead for the track to be sealed shut. The human soldier set his passenger down at a bench, moving into what looked like was a small security station. "Entire ship is in lockdown. Da-" his expletive statement was cut off as a metallic crash filled Mira's ears. The source was a vent being smashed open, allowing a slimmer, unarmored Aparoid fall through, right onto the wounded pilot. His scream was cut off in an instant as one of it's long needle like legs pierced clean through him, a strange bug like hiss assaulting her ears. She panicked and fired, watching the blue bolts connect, tearing into the creature and killing it. several more began dropping from other vents, the soldier rushing out of the security station.

"We gotta run! Come on!" he needed no second invitation after Mira's shout, rushing back into the maze of hallways as the creatures skittered after them. a burst of silvery blue bolts erupted from the soldiers rifle, killing several of them as Mira charged her weapon again, barely looking back as she haphazardly fired over her shoulder. At least one creature behind her squealed from the shot. Without warning, a door ahead of them flashed open, a pair of enemy troops stepping out, only to be blasted down by Mira. The two of them flashed through the door, the soldier slapping the door switch to seal the door behind them.

"God damn it! will this shit ever e-" his voice was cut off again, but not by a crash. Mira's jaw dropped in horror as a long, thin blade like section of Aparoid armor stuck from the soldier's chest, blood gurgling from his mouth just before he was cast aside, slamming into a large cylindrical tank and shattering it, a revolting smelling lime green fluid spilling out. There was an unfinished creature in the tank, Mira only now noticing that the room was filled with similar tanks. Her attention was yanked back to what was next to her as she narrowly managed to duck the murderous swing of the blade like appendage, droplets of blood arcing off the glistening surface. The creature stood close to eight feet tall, a torso like structure sitting on a four legged body, two long blade like arms on the torso, it's head having two purple eyes, both glowing faintly. Mira panicked, firing a pair of shots at the creature, only to watch them reflect off the armored carapace. Before she could think to do more, the dull backside of the blade it had swung at her slammed back into her, launching her into the fowl smelling liquid, right next to the two corpses. Her carbine lost, she quickly undid the clasp on the dead soldier's sling, ripping the rifle up and squeezing the trigger. It was still set to full auto, the first round slamming into the creatures head, the denser round managing to gouge out one of it's eyes before reflecting off. The second round came nearly a half second after the first, going over the creatures head. the action was working way slower than it should have as the sticky liquid coating the weapon got onto the exposed action, the weapon not ejecting the second casing or chambering a fresh round. The creature was reeling from the first round, Mira taking the chance to scramble back to her feet, yanking the bolt back to eject the empty ceramic jacket and trying to clear away some of the gunk clogging the action. A screech behind her caused her to glance back, going wide eyed as the now one eyed creature lunged forward, faster than she could ever really hope to get away from, the bladed arm slicing toward her again. She narrowly managed to drop to the ground, the bolt on the rifle releasing on impact, in her panic, she rolled back over, barely noticing the rush of fowl smelling fluid from the three tanks the creature had punctured as she aimed for the head again, firing. This time, the weapon continued to cycle, still slower than it should have been firing, but enough that several rounds tore at the creatures head, blowing the armor away and tearing the head off. As it collapsed to the ground, she noticed several objects flailing around in the fluid around her, one being just like the creature she just killed, only a lot smaller and without the plates being fully developed, still soft and floppy. _I'm in a hatchery!? Why would they be growing these things!_ She tried to think about something else as she pulled her slime covered pistol from it's holster, firing a single blast into each of the creatures flopping around in the viscous liquid, trying to block the smell out of her mouth and nose. It took every ounce of her to keep from puking as she moved back over to her team member's corpse, pulling several slime covered magazines from his pouches to drop into her cargo pockets. She was covered in the disgusting gunk, her fur stuck together virtually everywhere on her body. A small groan slipped out of her as her mind finally caught up to the situation she was now in, completely alone on an enemy ship, and incapable of escaping. She gave one glance at the rifle in her hands, half debating jamming the muzzle of the weapon into the underside of her jaw and pulling the trigger. _Don't give up now._ that one thought seemed to echo several times through her head, tears leaking out of her eyes as the thought of killing herself became more than a thought, rather a full on temptation. _So long as you still draw breath, you have a chance. First step is getting a layout of the ship, figure out exactly where you are and where you can go. Now is not the time to give in._ she nodded, barely realizing that she was practically talking to herself now. with out another thought, she pressed deeper into the hatchery, weapon raised and poised for a fight.

* * *

I found myself shaking uncontrollably as I followed Ramirez toward a dropship, the combat suit making me feel weightless, almost forgetting I had a weapon in my hands. The suit used a similar system to a virtual reality entertainment system, reading the commands sent from the user's brain to sync the synthetic muscles built in the under layer of the armor with the user's actual muscles, and allowing for the user to control the thrusters and grapple line with their thoughts instead of a physical interface. I had already tested the equipment, feeling strange with the ability to 'feel' the outside of the suit, and operate things with mere thoughts. But none of that had anything to do with the fear and adrenaline now coursing through my system. The small group clambered onto the bird, Ramirez sitting beside me and the other three across from us as the ramp beside us raised, allowing the craft to begin it's preflight checks. I felt Ramirez bump my shoulder, glancing at him to see his concerned expression. The visor's on the suits were capable of splitting open, the top half sliding over the forehead of the helmet while the bottom half split and folded over the sides of the helmet.

"You good Will, you look as pale as a ghost?" I shrugged, trying to face away from him. "Hey, you remember what you used to do for our old platoon before every mission? Be nice to hear that again." I glanced at him, letting a small sigh slip out. Cant hurt, just one more time right?

"Alright… fine." I took a deep breath before letting my eyes close, bowing my head slightly as I continued. "Lord, protect these men who have chosen to stand beside me today, for we very well may be stepping into the gates of hell soon. If we should fall, watch over those we leave behind, guide them on whatever path they may be taking, and protect them in our stead. For we are warriors, who have turned combat for the sake of our families into a form of art. And I humbly ask, should any of these men be standing at your gates before this day is out, allow them in with open arms, allow them peace, from the chaos they have endured. Amen." I faintly heard the other four all repeat the final word, finding myself oddly calmed and at peace, something I hadn't felt before a fight in longer than I could remember.

"Just like old times Will." He was smirking at me, raising his fist up to me. I returned the smirk and lightly punched his fist, nodding to him.

"Just like old times Matt." All of our faceplates closed as we heard the engines whine increase, marking the craft lifting off, carrying us into space. It didn't take long for the craft to be being shaken as weapons fire likely hit the ship, our HUD systems highlighting enemy craft and friendly as they danced around us, enemy diamonds going grey and breaking apart all around us. I felt the ship flip around, it's engines off as Ramirez nodded to me. The group all stood, waiting patiently as the bay door opened, revealing the ship still several kilometers away. debris surrounded it, several larger chunks being all that remained of escort cruisers and frigates, as well as the parts from destroyed fighters. Although possible, there really wasn't a whole lot of room for a fighter to maneuver, much less a dropship. I felt the thrusters on my back whine to life from a mere thought, closing my eyes for the barest trace of a second before the ship beneath my boots vibrated, just before I was cast from the bay, the ship having slammed back up to full throttle. Almost simultaneously, all four of us had boosted forward, throwing us out of the bay even faster than a normal space jump. Not that I had ever done maneuver like this before, merely heard of special forces teams training to do them. in seconds, we were amongst debris, the speed counters putting us at moving near mach three, about the standard flight speed for a fighter. Debris whipped past my face plate as a few small movements of my legs and thoughts sent me spinning and weaving through the debris. I panicked as a larger piece came into my vision, flipping to be feet first and firing my thrusters as brakes, I was running as soon as I hit the metal, barely realizing that each of my strides were dozens of meters long, the magnets built into the boots being just powerful enough to give my feet grip, but not enough to slow me down. Several of the others had encountered pieces of the same ship, repeating exactly what I had just done. Ramirez was the only one who managed to weave through the debris, having slowed down considerably to do so. Almost on cue with launching from the debris, a pair of scythe fighters launched out from the debris angling in on us.

"Fuck! Scatter!" I wasn't sure who had spoken, but I was instantly reacting, firing the grapple on my wrist into the remains of a fighter, firing my thrusters and using it to suddenly change my direction, even the built in inertial compensators unable to keep up with the movement. As soon as the grapple released, I aimed and fired it into a fresh piece of debris, Fox's arwing whipping past underneath me. The second pivot brought me back on course, but one of the enemy fighters had ignored Fox, and was now following us.

"Damn it! one of em is still on us!" I barely recognized Ramirez's voice through the static, already having an idea as I responded.

"Don't worry about him, I got him!" I fired my grapple again, swinging around another chunk of hull armor to redirect myself straight back toward the enemy fighter. As soon as I was close enough, I fired the grapple yet again, barely catching one of the G-diffusers. One well timed burst from the thrusters and I was whipping around behind the fighter, being jerked by the grapple line and near instantly accelerated up to the fighters speed. Thankfully, the fighter was moving fairly slowly, trying to not hit the debris. I slammed down on the nose of the fighter, just feet from the canopy. The pilot was clearly panicking as I one handed the rifle I was carrying and fired, the fully automatic burst tearing through the canopy and killing the pilot. One jump and I was swinging back under the craft, releasing the grapple so I would be going toward the main cruiser again. The fighter drifted lazily off course, just before slamming into a chunk of hull and detonating.

"Damn Will, I never thought you would top the nuke for crazy!" I smirked at Fox's call, seeing him blast the doors off one of the ships hanger, the others already braking to land inside. I was moving way faster than I should have been, whipping past them in an instant, even with my thrusters firing to slow down. Thinking fast, and knowing I was burning in, I fired the grapple into the lip of the hanger, letting myself rollover so I was facing the hanger, my back thrusters firing to keep me from slamming into the hanger ceiling as I was jerked against the grapple line. It's magnet failed, sending me careening toward the hanger floor, I barely managed to land feet first, hitting the deck at a full sprint, crossing the hanger in seconds as defenders and techs alike began firing. But I was moving too fast for them to track, only a couple of red bolts landing on my shield as I returned fire, several short bursts dropping whom they were fired toward. One soldier was unfortunate enough to be straight in front of me, using my right hand to grab the face of his helmet, lift him off the deck, and slam him back down without missing a step, and likely killing him from the force of it. I barely managed to skid to a stop before hitting the back wall of the hanger, bringing my weapon back un in an instant, switching the weapon back to single fire, the HUD cross hair making it all too easy to finish off the enemies in my swath of the hanger, the other three skidding to stops at the back of the hanger as they finished assaulting through themselves.

"Remind me to never piss you off when you got this gear." I smirked as Ramirez trotted over to me, both of us dropping spent magazines. "Mira, do you copy over?" I nodded to him as he spoke into his radio, moving to a door out of the hanger, slapping the door switch as soon as I was close enough. There was a garbled response, myself barely able to hear a shriek through the static and sounds of fire. "If you can hear us, keep transmitting! We are coming to you!" a tracker appeared on my HUD, myself stepping off into the hall without a second thought.

* * *

Mira spun to a stop, aiming back down the hallway she was currently leaving as she fired the human rifle, barely able to control the recoil from the fully automatic weapon. Now that the embryonic fluid had been mostly burned off, the action was working extremely smoothly. Too bad this was her last magazine, the bolt locking itself back as several armored Aparoids fell under her fire. She dropped the now useless and heavy weapon, smacking the door panel as she ran deeper into the small armory. But, sadly, it was filled with weaponry for vehicles and fighters, not people. She cursed as she pulled her small blaster back out, knowing how useless it was against the armored Aparoids.

Her heart stopped as the sound of metal being rent apart reached her ears. She went wide eyed as she saw another of the bladed creatures literally cutting the door apart, letting it and the Aparoids that had been chasing her into the room. She started firing her blaster as fast as she could, backpedaling as the red bolts reflected off the creatures, merely annoying them. _This is it, isn't it?_ She stopped firing as that thought hit her, her arms going slack. Her eyes closed, just waiting for the creatures to reach her. She was suddenly thrown from her feet, a deafening boom in her ears. Her eyes snapped open, seeing a section of the ceiling blasted in, the bladed creature crushed from the falling panels, as she watched a white and black object fell from the smoldering hole, barely fazed by the several meter drop as it began firing the weapon it was carrying into Aparoids, Mira recognizing the near pure silver color of the bolts, marking tungsten rounds. It seemed they were more than a match for Aparoids reflective armor, each round tearing through several Aparoids, followed by a grenade round into the door they were trying to claw out of, more soldiers dropping down as the first turned to her. She was shaking uncontrollably, able to easily feel her heart pounding away in her chest. The armor before her was like nothing she had ever seen before, the dark silver faceplate opening up to reveal a face should could never forget, even if he still hadn't shaved.

"Will!" for a second, she was relieved to see him, but that second disappeared as fast as It came. "What the hell are you doing here!" she marched forward as she shouted at him, slamming the bottom of her fist on his chest plate, which oddly caused him to step back.

"Ow, hey, I can feel that!" his words just made her hit him again, causing him to shy away, "Mira! You going insane or something!?" she growled, wanting nothing more than to shoot him at the moment.

"Am I insane!? Why don't you ask yourself the same question! What, did you think rescuing me would make me forget that you just dumped me!" her grip tightened on her weapon as she glared at him.

"What!? Mira, that doesn't fucking matter right now! now come on, let's go!" something about the way he said that infuriated her even more, causing her snap her blaster up and fire, watching the red bolt splatter harmlessly against shielding. The other four soldiers jumped at the sound of the weapon discharging, Will going wide eyed as she fired again, causing him to shy away. "Mira!"

"Oh shove off! It's not like it's actually hurting you! What the hell are you doing here!?" she heard a small half chuckle from one of the other soldiers, barely hearing what he said as he signaled the other two.

"Sheesh, remind me to never piss her off either."

"Mira, I came to save you! Now let's go! This isn't the time or place for this crap." He was turning around when she shouted again.

"And what happened to hiding in that cell!? You made it out like if you left, you'd kill one of us!" she could see his shoulders slump, still facing away from her.

"I'm sorry Mira. I'm not here to try and win you back or some stupid shit like that. I'm still just as dangerous to be around, for all of you. But…. I'm less dangerous than this ship is. Now let's go." Mira felt her anger drop as her mind started to really catch up to what she was doing. Something about the sound of his voice, his poise, she knew he was still terrified of being used to hurt her. She couldn't stop the tears now pouring out of her eyes as she spoke, her words soft.

"Will…. I don't care how complicated this gets… I… I just want you. I don't want to ever lose you, regardless of how." No matter how angry she was for the emotional roller coaster she had been on with him, she wasn't going to give up on him. I owe him that much at least. He stopped for a second at her words, the panels making up his face plate flicking back into place before he looked back at her.

"I'm sorry Mira." His soft voice was distorted and muffled by the helmet, but she could hear the pain in his words. She sighed as she followed him out, her radio buzzing as Ramirez called out.

"One survivor secured, moving to the EVAC point now, how copy!?" there was several seconds of lag before Fox responded, enough time for the team to move back to the hole they had blown in the ceiling, firing grapples to hoist them back up. Will let his weapon dangle on its sling as he wrapped an armored arm around her, Mira clinging to him as the grapple pulled them up.

"Make it quick, looks like the enemy gave up on saving the ship, got maybe fifteen minutes before it hits atmo." As soon as Mira could let go of Will she, did.

"How far is the extraction point from the bridge?" The soldiers glanced at each other for a second after she spoke, Will being the first to respond.

"It's one of the rear hangers. Don't tell me you're thinking…." She instantly cut him off, snarling.

"I'm not letting all of the people who have died on this ship die for nothing! Now you can either come with me, or not, but I'm going." Will sighed, Mira only knowing which was Will was because of him being the closest to her.

"Go, both of you. Mills, Jacobs, Oakes, We'll secure that hanger." Will nodded as Mira recognized Ramirez's voice, the three of them turning and sprinting off down the halls.

"Well, let's go Mira." She nodded as they set off, taking a much slower pace.

"Will…" she had barely worked up the courage to speak the one word to him as they walked down the dark corpse filled corridor, Will remaining silent as they moved deeper into the ship. it was eerily quiet, not even the usual engine noise tugging at her ears anymore.

"Mira… Are you alright? You don't look too good." She glanced down at herself, just now realizing that she was still trembling from the adrenaline of earlier. Her fur was matted and stuck together across every exposed section of her body, her once clean jacket now torn and blackened, and as covered in the sticky fluid as her fur.

"I'm fine, just a little shaken and bruised." She heard him grunt, his weapon and focus clearly elsewhere.

"Sure don't smell alright. Did you take a bath in the ship's latrine system?" her fists clinched for a second, about to yell at him, until she realized that he was actually concerned about her.

"I'm fine. Got covered in some sort of embryonic fluid. They're growing these Aparoids on the ship, and near as I can tell, they aren't attacking the enemy troops either." Will cursed under his breath, Mira about to continue when he held up a single finger.

"I got this, just stay down." She nodded, trusting him as he dashed around a corner, the sound of his weapon discharging reaching her ears.


	32. Final Rest

I aimed at the reinforced bulkhead, squeezing the trigger and watching as the full magazine of tungsten rounds splattered against the metal, super heating it just before I fired a grenade into it, denting the super heated metal. I cursed, quickly reloading my weapon before sprinting forward, slamming shoulder first into the steel as I fired the suits thrusters. The weight of the armor, coupled with the weakened door and the thrusters firing, allowed me to rip through the door, at the cost of my shielding. But, as it happened, I didn't need them, the room beyond the door being empty of life.

"It's clear Mira!" I glanced at her as she carefully stepped onto the bridge, the stolen enemy blast rifle in her hands.

"Wish we had access to this armor sooner. Would have made life a lot easier." I shrugged, the heads up display still flashing red, waiting for the shielding to come back online.

"It's not all powerful Mira. There are a lot of weak points in the armor, and the shields are relatively weaker than Mark Three gear. So yeah, it gives a lot of mobility, but it isn't that tough." Mira chuckled, shaking her head as a small smile crossed her face. Even covered in crud from the hatchery, I still couldn't help but see her as gorgeous. _Stop. Cant think like that anymore. You gotta shove them away._

"Typical you, always seein the bright and fuzzy side, huh?" I shook my head, letting my attention return to the task at hand.

"Mira, don't." I heard her sigh as I moved to the navigation console, plugging a small cable off the armor's wrist into the computer. A few commands into the terminal and the armors computer system had found the data. I instantly keyed up the comm system, prepping the files to be transmitted. "Ramirez, I got the cipher, transmitting it to you now." I quickly unplugged from the console, turning straight for the door. "Come on. We're done here." She sighed again, quietly following along behind me as I glanced at the timer in my HUD, marking when the evac boat would have to leave. _Barely more than three minutes. Gotta move fast._ "Mira, we have to move fast. Got it?" she nodded and I took off at what felt like a light trot, but one glance back told me that it was close to a full on sprint. _Damn, need to remember the way this armor is._ I slowed down a bit letting Mira keep up a little better, although I'd probably need to stop soon, given the full on sprint she had been at.

"Slo… Slow down… please…" she was breathing like a runaway freight train. I sighed, taking one glance at her as a small frown crossed my face.

"Mira, get on my back, hold on tight. We don't have time for this." she nodded, letting me pick her up in a firemen's carry, retaining full control over my rifle in doing so. As soon as she was on my back, I took off at a full sprint, barely managing to not slam into walls as I sprinted down stair wells and halls at blinding speeds. _Maybe this armor is better than I thought._ A pair of soldiers were about to move through an intersection we were heading for. I fired off a pair of bolts, unable to get clean shots while running, both missing. But the suddenness of the shots, and how fast we passed the two soldiers startled them. neither stayed on their feet, bringing a small smile to my face. I almost panicked when I glanced at the timer, seeing just over a minute left. Thankfully, we were at the hanger. Problem was, there were several dozen hostiles actively engaging the other three right now, the dropship taking a beating. "Mira, you gotta run for the drop ship, I'll cover you." She nodded as I set her down, slapping the door switch before slipping through. before I could start firing, the ship was rocked, barely staying on my feet. None of the enemy soldiers stayed on their feet, prompting me to move forward, stopping as I realized the enemy soldiers were floating off the deck, the dropship and the crates strewn about the hanger drifting off the floor as well. Oh shit, gravity is down. Mira! I panicked, realizing that she was floating off the floor, dozens of feet behind me. As I watched, an unarmored Aparoid skittered out of the door we had used, unaffected by the zero gravity. I snapped my weapon up, aiming at it, only to realize she was in the way. No! without think, I started sprinting forward, watching in horror as it impacted with her, only for it's shrill shriek to fill the hanger. Mira was stabbing it repeatedly with a familiar black knife, one of it's razor sharp feet having cut her arm. Aparoid dark green and her red blood droplets eerily floated through the air, intermixing as I slid to a stop, the mag boots unable to fully stop me. "Mira! Shove off it, now!" she did as I said, clearing herself as I opened fire. The silvery bolts ripped clean through the creature, killing it. I jumped up to her as I heard the dropship's engines fire up. The ambient temperature in the hanger was rising, marking the ship's fall into the atmosphere.

"Will!" I barely heard her shout as I reached her, something impacting my back, sending artificial pain through my body. An automated voice rang out in my suit, a small curse slipping out.

 _"Shields offline, maneuvering thrusters damaged."_ I fired one of the working thrusters as I reached Mira, sending both of us spinning, allowing me to sling her toward the drop ship.

"Will! No!" I could see the panic in her voice, some small droplets of water drifted behind her as I watched, a few blood drops coming off her arm.

"I'm sorry Mira." I managed to land feet first on the hanger roof, the bladed Aparoid that had managed to swipe at me still down on the hanger deck. I watched as Mira was caught by Ramirez, one nod between us telling him what to do. The ramp on the dropship closed, letting it slip out into the flames of atmospheric re-entry.

* * *

"We have to go back for him! we cant leave him!" Mira tried to shove Mills off of her, who was trying to bandage the wound on her arm.

"We cant! That ship is burning up! Those flames would roast all of us the second we opened the bay, even if we could get close enough!" Mira glared at him, launching to her feet.

"we have to try!" Ramirez sighed, shoving her back into the seat.

"Fine. Just let Mills patch you up. Pilot, follow that ship! Jacobs, try and get contact with Hawkins." Mira obeyed, silently waiting for word, nearly jumping out of her seat as a voice spilled from her radio.

"-ot crisped pretty bad trying to get out of that hanger, armor integrity is compromised. Cant risk going out on the hull until the ship is low enough to cool down." She heard one of the pilot's voices follow Will's, waiting for an answer.

"Roger that, I'm sending you a rendezvous on the hull. Be there in two minutes. You'll have maybe a thirty second window, over." She gulped as she waited, watching the bay door open, the frigid air instantly chilling her to the bone. Snow was swirling past her vision, but she could still see the falling capital ship, black smoke billowing away from it. Time seemed to drag by, Mira unable to stop herself from following Ramirez to the ramp, hanging on for dear life as she leaned down it to see. The hull was at a sharp angle compared to them, but it was the only section not swathed in flames. _Please Will, make it to us somehow…_ her eyes frantically searched the hull for any sign of him.

"Ten seconds!" she heard the radio call, panicking as she still saw no sign of Will, the wind howling at her ears. Suddenly, a section of hull platting blasted out, a blackened white form jumping from it. he was sliding down the hull on his back, firing back at the hole he had left, where several Aparoids were now spewing out.

"Will!" Mira couldn't stop herself from shouting as she saw him, knowing it likely never reached his ears. Ramirez beside her started firing, Will managing to spin around so he was sliding feet first before suddenly kicking off the hull, flying right for the open ramp. Her heart leapt into her throat when she realized he wasn't going to make it, only for Ramirez to leap off the ramp, a grapple being fired into the ceiling as he did so. He barely reached Will's outstretched hand, a grin exploding across her face as she saw the two of them dangling below her. she couldn't stop the tears flooding down her face as the two were slowly hauled back to the ship, the line barely able to retract as the craft pulled away from the falling ship, just seconds before it slammed down on the icy tundra. As soon as they were close enough, Will and Ramirez put their feet on the plating for the ramp, the magnets in the boots letting them retain their grip as they stepped back into the craft. Mira had her arms around Will's charred armor the second he was clear of the closing ramp.

"Mira? i… please…" His voice dropped off, Mira not really knowing why, but not really caring as she held onto him. she barely even noticed as her exhausted body slipped off into sleep, still standing and holding on to Will.

* * *

Fox jogged down the hall, wincing slightly every now and again as his leg had an occasional flare of pain come from it. he came to a stop at the door to one of the lounges, lightly panting as he caught his breath again. Once his breath had settled, he tapped the door panel, the door flashing open for him. the first thing he noticed as he stepped inside was the smell, nearly being knocked over by a horrible rotting smell. He covered his nose as his eyes watered, fighting the urge to gag. His eyes quickly scanned the room, seeing Will sitting on the edge of one of the couches, a matted mass of fur and filthy clothing lying on the couch next to him that was Mira. She was somehow fast asleep, Will looking like he was about to pass out himself. His grey undershirt was nearly black with sweat, his grey and black digital camoed pants being equally sweat soaked. His uniform top was draped over the arm of the couch, in the same condition as the rest of his clothing.

"You two alright?" Fox finally managed to get enough of a breath to speak, trying to not breath through his nose as he uncovered it. Will didn't even glance up at him.

"We're alive. Get anything from that cipher yet?" Fox shrugged, planting himself in an armchair that was facing them.

"Not that I know of. Came up to check on you two as soon as I got back. We were firebombing that wreck with everything we have. Don't want those Aparoids getting around. You sure you two are good?" he shrugged at Fox, still not looking at him.

"Some one should probably wake her and get her to shower. Should probably do the same before you lock me back up." Fox could see how defeated he felt, even though they had likely scored their largest victory yet.

"Why don't you wake her? and as long as I'm in charge of this ship, you will never be in one of it's cells." Will's eye's closed, not even that stopping the handful of tears that leaked out.

"Fox… i… I can't do this… I can't let myself put all of you at risk…" Fox smiled, and despite his nose protesting, stepped right up to Will and placed a hand on his shoulder, Will finally looking at him.

"Will, from where I stand, you being beside us reduces our risk of getting hurt. You might get hurt, but that's cause you keep pulling reckless shit. Then again, because you do, we don't have too." Fox heard the door behind him slide shut, not realizing he had left it open until he looked back, Wolf's large form stepping out.

"He's right Will. Now isn't the time to feel sorry for yourself or any of that bullshit. Best way to keep from being controlled by those bastards again, is to kill every last one of them." Fox couldn't stop his brow from furrowing as Will started to cry uncontrollably.

"None of you understand! You don't get it! I wasn't some sack of meat being controlled by someone else! I chose to kill Fara! I chose to kill the others! I wanted to kill you! I wanted to kill all of you!" Fox could hear the pain in his voice, the fear, the sorrow. He was shaking uncontrollably, trying once, fruitlessly, to wipe the tears now covering his face away. Fox couldn't think of a thing to say, Mira stirring. She didn't seem awake at all as she sat up, just enough to shift her torso around him and hug his waist, burying her face in her gut.

"Wiiilll, please don't cry… its okay…" her voice was distant and weak, almost over powered by Will sobbing. He gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders, seeming to cry even more.

"She's right Will, as awake as she is right now, it doesn't change how right she is. I don't blame you for Fara's death, or Leon's, or panther's, or any of them. We don't know what happened to you, and hell, maybe we never will, but it doesn't matter. All of that happened in the past. We can't change it. All we can do, is push for something better in the future." Will closed his eyes, a small faint smile spreading on his lips as he continued to cry. Fox smirked, reaching down and patting his shoulder as he stood.

"Go ahead and wake her. She needs you. And you better not let her down." Will nodded, Fox signaling for Wolf to follow him out, taking one last glance back at the two of them before leaving the room.

* * *

Mira moaned as someone gently shook her, annoyed that someone was trying to wake her. _Damn it, I haven't slept in almost thirty-six hours!_

"Really, that long?" she suddenly sat bolt upright, barely noticing herself shove off someone. _I spoke that aloud!?_ Her vision swam and blurred as she fought to stay at least somewhat awake. "Sheesh, and you say I'm the reckless one. Come on, you really should get cleaned up." She felt almost more than saw as Will stood from the couch, her vision clearing as she began to really wake up. She could easily tell he had been crying, her first instinct being to try and help him.

"Will, are you…" he smiled to her, the small gesture, however weak, stopped her.

"I will be. Come on, sleepy head. You need a shower. No offense, but even my tortured and abused nose can't take much more of ya right now." she grumbled to herself as he pulled her from the couch, not fighting as he slipped one of her arms over his shoulder, almost falling back asleep right there. She couldn't recall any of their trip to their old cabin, only remembering him cursing after the door opened. "Damn it, all your models got strewn about. Go clean up, I got this." she blinked several times before realizing she was standing on her own, looking down on him as he stooped over to pick the carvings up. She again grumbled some unintelligent string of words or another, not even sure what she was trying to say as she stumbled into the shower. When she finally managed to strip of her filthy clothing, and slip into the blissfully warm water, she seemed to finally begin to wake up, the warmth of the water washing away her tiredness along with the remnants of the past few fights. She growled slightly as she tried to get her fur at least relatively presentable again, it still being matted and tangled regardless of the amount of shampoo used. She sighed as she finally gave up, shutting the water off and stepping out to see an outfit already laid out on the counter for her. she couldn't help but smile at his thoughtfulness, quickly slipping into the clean clothing on before stepping out and collapsing onto her soft bed.

"Thanks Will." She barely managed to get that out, so utterly exhausted that all she really wanted to do was sleep. For a second, she had thought she had fallen asleep and missed his response, about to sit herself up to prevent that when his soft voice stopped her.

"I'm sorry Mira. For making you think I don't trust you, for shoving you away… I… I don't know what to do right now. I don't want you to forgive me, just understand that I'm… figuring things out." She flipped her head around on the pillow, weakly smiling toward where he was sitting on his own bunk.

"Just figure it out quickly you oaf, before I really kick your ass. Good night Will, I love you…" her eyes slipped closed, not really able to fight sleep any longer.

"Good night Mira… I… Good night." She barely heard his response, her mind too tired to even try to process it, slipping off into sleep.

* * *

Mira groaned as she rolled her feet off the bed, sitting up. She still felt groggy and tired, but no where near as bad as she had. One look told her Will had left the room, her mind thinking back to what he had said, just before she fell asleep. A small sigh slipped out of her as she stood, finding her boots before heading out the door. Her first thought was to head down to the brig, but before she could start moving, a yellow alert rang across the ship.

"All Star Fox members, to the bridge, immediately!" Mira recognized Fox's voice and let a small sigh slip out again. It didn't take her long to get up to the bridge, finding herself as the last one to enter, her eyes settling on Will. He barely glanced at her, a small frown crossing her face as she moved to join him. "Alright, now that everyone is here, we know where the enemy's primary base of operation is. It's on a planet named Ariel in the Vega Star system." A small star chart appeared on the main holoviewer, highlighting the Vega system. The Lylat, Altair, and Sol systems were each their own color to make them distinct compared to the others. "We already had contact with the Texas. Word from earth is that Stazac secured a treasure trove of data, enough that the U.S. has issued a cease fire with the Cornerian Federation, and is diverting the entire fifth and ninth fleets to our rally point. Word from Corneria tells us that fifteen Cornerian cruisers will be joining us as well, along with twenty seven destroyers. Other human nations are still pressing on Corneria, we wont get any more help. Current word on deployment is a gate jump powered by the Valiant. Heard Peppy gave it some upgrades." Wolf cut him off, already speaking.

"We already know they have roughly a hundred cruisers, and that's just counting the ships used in the assaults on earth and Corneria. The fifth and ninth fleets only number forty three cruisers, and half their usual escort. That being said, our only goal is to begin the initial assault. Just bog them down and prevent their escape. The Lincoln is going to gather the largest force it can before gating out to the fight. The CDF may also reinforce us if they get the chance. Not only will this be the first joint operation between human ships and Cornerian ever, but this operation is currently off the books as far as the governments are concerned. We have no solid number on the ships they have available, but I would wager around the same as the two assault fleets, bringing that total to around one fifty, plus escort." Fox stepped back forward as the holo changed, showing their rag tag fighting force.

"basic battle strategy will be as follows, the UEC's heavy cruisers will take on the brunt of the fight, while Cornerian forces focus on out maneuvering and repelling the enemies attempts to flank our force. The Great Fox will hang back and reinforce any trouble spots, bail out anyone we can. That's what our pilots will be doing as well. We will be arriving at the rendezvous in two hours. Make sure the ships are ready." Mira sighed as the holo viewer shut down, turning to talk to Will, only to watch him walk off, not even glancing at her.

"Will…" she couldn't help the tear that slipped out, watching as he left the bridge. Before she could react, a mass of cinnamon colored fur and hair dominated her vision, the woman smiling before her.

"He'll come around Mira. Just gotta be patient with him. nothing good happens overnight you know." Mira couldn't help but return her smile, something about the woman being utterly contagious.

"You seem pretty supportive of someone who killed your friends." She shrugged, Mira seeing pain flashing across her face for the barest trace of a second.

"Wasn't really his fault. He thought we were the enemy." Her smile was weaker, but some how still there. Mira looked away, moving to step off the bridge. "Look, Mira, I'm not kidding. Give him time. Really." Mira shrugged, stepping away and leaving the bridge. When she got down to the hanger, she saw Will looking over one of the third generation Arwings, a small sigh slipping out of her. she quickly headed his way, hollering to her as soon as she was close enough.

"What do you think you are doing!?" Will glanced up at her, his shoulders slumping.

"What does it look like? I'm getting my fighter ready." Mira sighed and pointed at the black Arwing that used to be her own.

"Nice try dip, your ship is over there. I gave it to you, remember?" he shrugged and stepped away from the fighter, heading for his with out a word. "Will, can I talk to you?" he stopped for a second, still not actually looking at her.

"No. it can wait Mira. We have work to do." He moved to walk away, Mira grabbing his arm.

"And what if this is our last chance?" he froze, finally looking at her. he looked like he was fighting to figure out what to say. Mira suddenly stepped forward, pulling him into a hug. She could feel every muscle in his body tense up, almost like he wanted nothing more than to shove her away. "It's going to be alright Will." She spoke as softly as she could, her muzzle just an inch from his ear, just before burying her face in his neck. He slowly relaxed, wrapping his arms around her in return.

"Mira… just… stay safe out there today." She pulled away from him so she could look him in the eye, smiling.

"Of course Will. Promise me you'll do the same?" he just closed his eyes for a second before stepping away from her. she sighed as she watched him move toward his fighter, turning away and returning to the arwing he had been looking over.


	33. Ariel

Admiral Hawkins tried to settle his breath before he stepped into the room, almost blinded by the sudden change in lighting. Although the halls of the orbital station were very well lit, it was nothing compared to the blinding white light of the international conference hall, a room that looked like a small stadium, with a large circular table in the place of a field or court, almost a dozen seats spread out on the table. The table was reserved for the UEC's war council, the military heads of the most powerful human nations, their political leaders being placed beside them. The sloped seating around the pit was filled to the brim with delegates from almost every nation on earth, as well as the handful of sovereign nations on Jupiter's moons and Mars. Hawkins made straight for the table, Vince ambling along behind him to take one of the seats arrayed at the edges of the pit for guest speakers. In the center of the conference table was a massive holoprojector, the largest and highest resolution holoprojector humanity had yet to create, in fact. Although that title, as far as the universe was concerned, had gone to one in Times Square, New York. _Not that it even exists anymore._ Hawkins couldn't stop the thought from crossing his mind, a sour taste filling his mouth. He moved with the precision and confidence that years as a military leader had taught him, moving to his chair on the council, but not taking a seat.

"What is the meaning of this cease fire you have called on!? You're nations ships have retreated from several key locations!" Hawkins remained calm as the thick accented Russian Prime Minister shouted at him, his fury causing the delegates around him to shy away.

"If you hadn't so graciously prevented me from speaking, I would have jumped straight into that topic, Prime Minister Alexei Barkov." Hawkins gave the man a cold smile that had damn near frozen several other people unlucky enough to receive it before continuing. "I have called for a cease fire by all UEC forces under my command, in the lieu of new evidence in the New York investigation." As Hawkins spoke, the holoprojector created a massive rendering of New York's current state, nothing but brunt rubble, ash, and craters miles wide, some turning into brackish lakes as ocean and fresh water flowed into them. it was such an excellent image, that one would have thought they were standing somewhere, looking at the real scene. "There was a Venomian base on Mars that, with the help of mercenary specialists hired by the U.S. military, revealed to contain a massive cache of back up data. Amongst the terabytes of data recovered, was this audio file." He glanced out of the corner of his eye, seeing vince awkwardly manipulate the control tablet for the viewer, triggering the file.

"It is finally time. After years of planning and collaboration with that human wretch, McDonnell, we will be able to bring the Lylat system to it's knees! I am informed that our ships our on their way to destroy the coordinates provided by MacDonnell, and should do so within the hour! All that effort creating those false Cornerian warships will not have been in vain. His own ships should be on their way to Corneria soon, to help speed this conflict along." The audio file was ended, Hawkins knowing it changed over to being about the research project on Cerinia shortly after.

"Some of you are unfamiliar with the voice found in this message. Others, such as myself, recognize it as Doctor Anthony Andross, widely renowned as a psychopath and mass murderer." As Hawkins spoke, the viewer was changed to a massive rotating image of Andross, at one of his few recorded speeches. "He was also recently confirmed as alive and well, several files that we have already discovered showing how he did not parish in the well-known Lylat wars of twelve years ago. one of my ships has received a confirmed kill report on him already, reports on this are being filed now on that operation. This was less than twelve hours ago. this research data not only directly links the attack on Earth with a similar attack made on Corneria to the remnants of the venom empire, but to the Mohammad's army militant movement through it's unofficial leader, Alexander MacDonnell. There are dozens of files recognizing this relationship."

"And why should we trust any intelligence gathered by a cornerain dog!" The prime minister pointed straight at Vince as he shouted, the aging Cornerian seeming to shrivel up from the intense glares coming from virtually every angle.

"Vince Stazac has been branded as a traitor by his own race. Because he has tried to present what small scrapes of evidence he found in the Lylat system to his own government. Now, to more important matters. From data collected by both my forces in the Lylat system and the raid here in the Sol system, it has been determined that the MA-AR alliance, as it has been dubbed, is based on the planet, Ariel, in the Vega Star system. I am taking every ship under my command there, to link up with a joint Cornerian and human strike force, aiming to end this threat once and for all. If you don't chose to join us, so be it, but with the president's permission, all United States forces will no longer be taking part in this war!" the president beside him nodded, her voice, although soft, clearly carrying to everyone in the room.

"I beg of you, all of you, send your forces to this planet, and end this conflict. We've all seen enough death and destruction in our lifetimes." The united kingdom and German commanders were both instantly nodding in agreement.

"Just send us any details you have for this assault, and we will move what ships we have to assist you Admiral." Hawkins nodded to the fellow leader, the UK leader again nodding in agreement.

"I'll be on my way to the Lincoln now. we will be gating out there to try and reinforce our existing forces. If our projections are even close, they are already facing three to one odds. See you gentlemen in space." With that, he turned to leave the room, several voices shouting at once as Politian's began debating, something he had always hated.

* * *

Fox flexed his fingers as he waited in his Arwing, glancing over at Krystal in her's. she looked up at him while he watched, smiling to him. _We'll be fine Fox. You'll see._

 _Hmm, better be right Krys. It's good to see UEC and CDF ships together though_ _._ Krystal nodded, after his thought, both of their thoughts drifting to the sensor board and the mass of ships around them, tomcats, tridents, Arwings, and bottlenose fighters lazily drifting amongst themselves. Fox knew it had to be a data nightmare, crossing human and Lylattian information systems to provide both fleets with their battle nets, that being the only reason he could see the blips of the other ships on his RADAR.

"All ships, prepare for Gate Jump! Gate is opening in five… Four… Three… Two… One… All ships, forward!" Peppy's voice caused Fox to take a deep breath before ramming his throttle forward, aiming at the dead center of the green disk ahead of him. He grimaced, having always hated the sensation of going through a gate in a fighter. It made you feel like you were in a flatspin for several seconds as you passed through the corridor, larger ships having enough mass to remove the effect, or at least, make you not notice it. As soon as his fighter crossed into the green field of energy, Fox's head began pounding, feeling dizzier and dizzier by the second. Finally, his ship left the gate, the green light fading from around him. Ahead of him was an ugly brown planet, clearly devoid of life. But, looking at the edges of the planet, he could easily tell that it had what looked to be a normal atmosphere. Before he could think any more on the planet, alarms began ringing in his cockpit, hundreds of blips appearing on his screen.

"My god, how many of them are there! There's gotta be three hundred cruisers, plus escort! And that's just what LADAR and RADAR can pick out, who knows how many ships are in the system!? How were we so wrong about their personnel!?" Fox had no idea who had spoken, but most of the fleet had passed through the gate now, spreading out as they prepared to be engaged by enemy ships. A few yellow lances ripped by as the ships with kinetic cannons were already able to place reasonably accurate shots.

"Fox! I'm activating the nexus system! Only nine of our cruisers have the link systems installed, so it won't have the power of last time!" Fox nodded as Slippy spoke, having almost forgotten that Peppy had brought him, as well as most of the Great Fox's crew, to the rendezvous point.

"Got it! Fighters, guard our cruisers against any ship or missile you can! A fifth of our fleet is about to be vulnerable!" there were several acknowledgments over his radio, but he blocked it out as he glanced to his right and left, seeing the seven fighters arrayed around him. From Krystal's Arwing on his port, to Will and Mira's leading Wolf and Sheila's Wolfens, to Falco and Katt's interceptors on his right. He took another deep breath, trying to settle the quaking that had sprung up in all of his muscles, thousands of enemy fighter blips appearing on his RADAR, so many that he had no way to tell individuals apart.

"Well, if there ever was a good day to die, it'd be today." Fox smirked at Wolf's comment, about to open his mouth when Falco did so for him.

"Aw fuck that shit! Who said anything about dyin!? Me, I plan on kicking their asses!" Fox chuckled along with several other of his fellow team members.

"Especially you Will. I still gotta kick your ass ya know!" Fox rolled his eyes at Mira's comment, Will's voice changing his mood in a split second.

"For the fallen." His statement was quiet, almost so quiet that the static overwhelmed it. but it didn't bother Fox at all. Instead, it simply calmed him, all of his nerves settling down.

"For the fallen." After he repeated it, every member of the team did as well, Wolf being the last to speak.

"For everyone we've lost, and everyone we haven't." silence filled the comms as the distance closed between the forces, a brilliant blue light filling fox's canopy as the nexus system fired, spinning tendrils of electricity coring a chunk out of the enemy fleet. But it had nowhere near the range he had first seen it with, only destroying fifty or so ships. His fighter's alarm went off as he entered weapons range, unlinking his cannons and jamming the trigger in as he juked and weaved, hoping his shields could hold off the onslaught coming at him.

* * *

I pitched up after a pair of Scythes chasing Mira, watching one splinter apart before I ruddered over, aiming for the second. Before I could fire, my ship was rocked by a plasma shot, my already weakened shields nearly dropping out.

"Fuck!" I near instantly slammed the throttle forward, yanking the yoke into the back corner of the housing to pull a tight cork screw. One flipped switch killed the craft's inertial compensation, letting me slam the throttle back and flip around without stopping, now moving backwards. There had to be half a dozen fighters following me, their inaccurate shots streaking by, several missiles all tracking me. I jammed my trigger in, using the rudder pedals to sweep fire across them, three of the craft detonating as I targeted the missiles, then rammed my throttle forward. As soon as the throttle was maxed, I flicked the compensators back on, my ship staying in place for a second before rocketing toward the enemy craft. One of the craft panicked, slamming into it's comrade as it tried to juke out of the way. In an instant, I was searching for a fresh target, ignoring the fact that several more fighters were dropping on to my tail. _Damn it! We can't keep this up for long!_ I narrowly dodged a ship fired plasma blast, the green bolt slamming into a Cornerian cruiser, painted a rust red by the enemy. The shot tore at the hull, but the armor held the shot, just as it had been designed. I quickly pitched and rolled, ducking as close to the enemy ship's hull as I dared, trying to avoid any of their gun emplacements. Plasma shots were ripping by in massive volleys, a curse ripping out of my mouth as a yellow lance tore through the cruiser, nearly taking my wing off on it's way by. The cruiser detonated behind me, my cross hairs finding several more enemy craft as I ducked and weaved through enemy fighters.

"Will! You got a lot of birds on your tail!" I smirked, already knowing what Mira had shouted to me.

"Don't worry about it smalls, I got it!" I rolled through the debris of a ship, killing the compensation again as I shot past a human corvette. As soon as I had turned the compensator off, I pitched, killing thrust as I started to pitch, only slightly redirecting me, and without countering my forward inertia. A smirk crossed my face as the fighters that had been chasing me were torn to shreds by the phalanx cannons on the corvette, my maneuver having caused the enemies' smart missiles to miscalculate where I was going. As soon as I was parallel with my course, facing backwards, I started adding my fire to the corvettes for a second, before slamming the collective up, bringing the ship back around as I killed the collective and rammed the thrust forward. Without even thinking, I had turned the compensator back on, pitching away from the corvette and after a strike fighter chasing falco. It splintered apart and I juked away, just in time as a pair of missiles streaked by. The alarms in my cockpit were ringing incessantly, missile after lock after lock after missile being acquired and fired at me, almost too many to think of dodging. Several bursts of unlinked plasma whipped by behind me, Mira's Arwing streaking by as she cleared some of the munitions off my tail. I slammed my yoke forward as I realized that I was about to collide with a tomcat, cursing as one of the missiles chasing me detonated on the craft. Another whipped by on my left, shredding a sythe it was chasing. Even the bottlenose fighters seemed to be holding their own, working in wing pairs to cover each other. One glance at the sensor board told us how out matched we were, more fighters pouring from the planets surface.

"Guys! Listen up! I had a hunch, and ran a deep level scan of one of their ships! Most of these ships are unmanned!" I went wide eyed at slippy's statement, narrowly dodging an enemy strike fighter, blasting it's wingmen apart.

"How!? Their battle net cant be that strong!" I barely heard Wolf's voice as my fighter was rocked by an explosion, an enemy fighter winking out beside me.

"Their Aparoids!" I barely managed to keep from freezing at that, a pair of missiles streaking past me, trying to loop back on me. One well placed burst of fire detonated the two warheads just before I rolled and dodged, more missiles streaking by, way to close for comfort.

"That can't be! The Aparoids are damn near extinct! Besides, you can almost always see the infection on ships controlled by them!" Fox's shocked shout barely even entered my mind as I focused on dodging more shots, unable to get a break from the enemy fire.

"They were on that ship above Fachina, and they didn't attack the soldiers! How the hell did they get Aparoids working with them!?" Mira shot underneath me as she spoke, several fighters chasing her. I managed to scatter them as we passed each other, one of them detonating under my fire.

"Detecting multiple gate transmissions! Human ships exiting and opening fire, danger close!" I cursed, seeing that they had gated in amongst the enemy ships, several ships detonating as they left the gate. At the head of the fleet was a massive arrowhead like carrier, destroying several ships in seconds with just defensive guns. The enemy seemed to start violently swarming away from our fleet, the human fleets sweeping the enemy away, swarms of fresh friendly fighters finally clearing my tail.

"This is Admiral Hawkins! I brought as much of the fleet as I could muster! They seem to be pulling back for now, but we cant count on that being permanent. Rearm and repair what you can, we'll take point!" the new friendlies had nearly doubled the size of our fleet, the larger human ships simply out classing most of the enemy ships, with the exceptions of the enemy human style ships. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as my shields trickled back to life, a raptor squadron forming up around me.

"Hey ol' buddy, lookie what I got back!" the lead raptor waggled it's wings at me, myself smirking at the lanky pilot inside.

"Hey, maybe the _twilight's fire_ wont get shot down again?" the fellow human rolled his eyes at me before he peeled his fighter away, moving to engage an enemy fighter group.

* * *

"Sir! We have a Gate coming up, friendly, twenty five by sixty degrees off us!" Admiral Hawkins glanced at his tactical display, seeing the gate above his flagship, and several dozen kilometers away. Russian and Chinese vessels started to pour through, the combined fleet equaling the size of the fleet he now resided with.

"Think their friendly sir!?" he glanced at his sensor officer, seeing the man biting his lip.

"Comms, hail them!" before his comms officer could speak, the ship's comm system rang out, the whole bridges attention turning to the holoviewer as Prime minister Barkov appeared, in a command chair.

"All United Earth Coalition soldiers! Crush the Cornerians and the traitors alongside them!" another voice rang out, one with a distinctly Asian accent.

"My fleet joined yours under the impression were had come to assist Admiral Hawkins! to assault him now would make us the traitors! I Will not sta-" the voice was cut off as a Russian dreadnaught fired on one of the chinse cruisers, the kinetic rounds tearing the ship apart. Hawkins could easily recognize the ship, knowing it had been one of the ships from the Cerberus fleet.

"That is the fate of any Traitor of the UEC! All ships, op-" his voice was cut off as a quarter of the ships with him opened fire, targeting the ships beside them.

"This is Captain Xuo of the fourth fleet, to any allies of Admiral Hawkins, break formation and head for the Lincoln! Requesting fire support!"

"This is Commodore Reznov, we will not fight along someone who would target his own men! All ships, move to that rendezvous!" Several more calls rang out as dozens of ships began to try and break away from the enemy fleet.

"Comms! Try and reacquire IFF data! Cover those ships!" sheets of fire began to rip away from the Lincoln as another of the officers shouted.

"Sir, Venom forces advancing again! We're caught between them!" He cursed, glancing at the two Russian dreadnaughts on the read out, the two combining their fire on a Chinese dreadnaught, the less advanced ship crumbling from the fire.

"Helm, move us to engage those dreadnaughts, I want every bomber on this ship attacking them! fighters are to focus on covering allied ships, all non-essential personnel, begin evacuation and landing forces on the planet!" there were several different aye' aye's from across the room as the view port shifted, angling toward the Russian forces. Specks shot back and forth across the screen, light flashing in the view ports as weapons fire whipped across their vision. Just be alright Will…

* * *

Mira was rocked in her seat as a Russian corvette detonated, her missile having breached its reactor core. Several silvery plasma blasts whipped past her, the amount of destruction and venting atmosphere physically dragging and shaking her fighter. A bear cat angled in on her, Mira slamming on the rudder pedals, rolling and pitching as the ship crossed her path, letting her snake right onto its tail. A short stream of fire caused it to detonate, a yellow lance rocking her fighter as it ripped past. Her eyes followed the round, watching it slam into the hull of the Lincoln. Her heart leapt into her throat as she saw fires and burns all across the ship's hull. As she watched, one of the Russian dreadnaughts fired its central line gun, the kinetic round ripping clean through the Lincoln, blasting out one of its hangers. She was behind the heavy assault carrier, seeing that half its engines were either destroyed or damaged already.

"This is the Great Fox, Hang on Lincoln, we are inbound!" Mira narrowly dodged a pair of missiles, plasma and rail rounds whipping past her canopy way more often than she was comfortable with. A pair of brilliant white lances grabbed her attention, watching as they tore through one of the dreadnaughts, causing much more damage than rail rounds could have. The skewered ship began to pull away from the Lincoln, the Great Fox chasing the larger ship, its broadside array tearing chunks from the enemy ship. The other dreadnaught on the other hand, was untouched, shots still splattering and bouncing off it's shielding as it pounded broadside weapons into the Lincoln, Mira arcing around the side of the carrier as she chased down a pair of Scythe fighters.

"Lincoln actual to all hands! Abandon ship, I repeat, abandon ship!" Specks began ripping away from the ship, drop pods and escape pods inter mingling as enemy fighters started trying to chase them down. Mira growled as she started trying to hunt those fighters down, the Admiral's voice returning. "All friendly craft, be advised, stay away from the enemy dreadnaught and steer clear of our bow!" Mira panicked as she realized she had let a bear cat onto her tail, only to see it flash apart, Will's Arwing peeling away after another.

"Dad! You can't take on that ship like that! You don't have the firepower, especially with the beating you've taken!" she could hear the strain in his voice, watching as the Lincoln angled toward the enemy ship, the Admiral's response making her heart stop.

"Where I'm going, I won't need firepower. Engines, full ahead full!" Mira watched in horror as the Lincoln's massive engines fired, a few seconds of acceleration being all that separated it from impact. The two ships crushed together, the force of the Lincoln impacting literally bending the cylindrical dreadnaught at the impact point before one of the ships reactors was breached, sending pieces of both ships in all directions. The entire bow of the Lincoln was gone, it's own reactor detonating a few seconds later. All that remained of either ship after the second blast was floating pieces of scrap all slowly beginning to arc toward the planet as gravity tugged at the chunks.

"DAD!" she could hear the pain in Will's voice, his fighter streaking by her, toward the debris field several fighters angled after him, causing Mira to curse.

"Will, Look out!" he started to juke and dodge, almost too late as shots began landing on his shielding. Mira tried to knock out as many of the craft as she could, relief flooding through her as he either managed to shake the craft, or she destroyed them

"All forces! I think I found a way to end this fight! All CDF ships, pull back to the Great Fox and reform!" Mira worriedly glanced at Will, following him as he moved to return to the Great Fox. In the distance, she saw the last of the Cerberus dreadnaughts leap to warp, damaged, but alive.

* * *

Krystal watched the now distant battle through her canopy, the seven remaining CDF Cruisers and twelve destroyers covered in burns. Almost half of the Cornerian fighters had been destroyed, the human ships attempting to push the enemy away from the old battle grounds, both to get their ships clear of the debris and gain maneuvering room, and to allow for personnel recovery amongst the wrecks. As she watched, more enemy ships began to move from the far side of the planet, hundreds of ships, a split of Cornerian, human, and venom ships.

"Alright Slippy, spit it out, what does your crazy mind got now!" she glanced over at Fox's fighter as he spoke into the radio, grimacing at the number of burns and scrapes on the Great Fox.

"I'm detecting a powerful energy source inside the planet. As in, mantle of the planet, deep. Reminding me very much of the Aparoid queen! I cant give a confirmed on it, but if we can get above it in the atmosphere, I might be able to." Fox was instantly acknowledging, his words shooting out almost faster than Krystal could keep up.

"Alright, Admiral Douglas, lead the human ships on running interference. Slippy, take lead and show us the way. Fighters, cover the Great Fox!" Krystal sighed, her eyes following Fox's fighter as it banked toward the surface. Her mind began to drift, her telepathy subconsciously zeroing in on Will. She could feel how distressed he was, a mixture of sorrow and fear.

"Hey, Will, you hanging in there?" Krystal attention shifted to his black fighter as she spoke.

"I'm fine. Worry about yourself." She grimaced at the angry words, trying to shake it out of her head. _This battle is crazy…_ they were passing the debris from the earlier conflict, hundreds of ships now nothing more than floating scrap and husks. There were a handful of fighters still fighting each other amongst the debris, but for the most part, it was quiet. After the last thirty minutes of insanity she had just been through, it was blissful being able to just follow Fox's craft. Her entire body was trembling, her head hurting from the amount of adrenaline flooding her system, and if she cared enough to notice, sweat was starting to pool in her seat, soaking her fur and clothing. It didn't take long for the small fleet to drop into the atmosphere, Krystal starting to panic as flak cannons opened fire all around them. She tried to duck and weave through it, watching as the cruisers began raking the ground with weapons fire, slowly silencing the guns. Streaks of fire were cascading from the sky, most of the debris from the battle still raging in orbit burning up before it could reach them in the atmosphere, but several of the larger chunks were impacting for kilometers around them, some more whole than others. As she watched, he realized there was a battle going on below her too, red, green, blue, and silvery bolts ripping back and forth across the ground as survivors from the battle above fought to not be overwhelmed by enemy ground forces.

"Alright, just a few more clicks people." Slippy's voice startled her, Krystal returning to scanning her environment. _Odd, I would have expected an attack by now…_ she could see a large structure ahead of them, looking almost like a massive bunker, large enough for the Great Fox to fit entirely inside of it. it's rust red color almost made it blend in. "Readings confirmed. That's a tunnel entrance, and I'm getting near identical readings as those from the Aparoid homeworld. Krystal, are you feeling anything with your telepathy?" she startled as Slippy spoke again, closing her eyes to focus, only for a flash of light to blind her.


	34. Showdown

Sheila tried to shield her eyes as a silvery lance ripped across the air, leaving a brilliant white vapor trail behind it. her fighter was rocked as one of the Cornerian cruisers detonated, spraying parts all over the desert below.

"Holy shit! Where did that…" Sheila's voice dropped out as she realized an enemy ship had appeared at the base of the vapor trail, a massive vessel that looked like a horizontal diamond with for massive rectangular engine booms off the four sides of the ship. scans showed the ship as being nearly four kilometers long, it's main gun's bore being almost as big as her fighter. She was paralyzed, staring at that ship in total fear.

"All ships, scatter! Stay out of that things firing area!" as she watched, the great fox and several of the Cornerian ships opened fire, their concentrated fire harmlessly reflecting off the ships shielding. Fighters were spewing out of the vessel as a voice sprang out of their com lines.

"How do you like my new toy, Star Fox? Time to get vengeance for my uncle!" she could easily recognize oikonny's voice, panicking as alarms began ringing in her cockpit. It took every ounce of skill she had to not get hit as sheets of weapons fire ripped away from the enemy ship and it's fighters, Sheila seeing one of the destroyers literally ripped apart by silvery bolts, the tungsten rounds decimating the ship. another ship simply disappeared from her scanners as she tried desperately to stay out of the fire. She was shocked when Fox's arwing ripped by, chasing down an enemy fighter and destroying it, managing to weave through enemy fire and managing to destroy enemy ships at the same time. _Come on! You are better than this Sheila!_ She let herself focus, starting to return fire and chase enemy craft as well, Cornerian fighters around her detonating far too rapidly for her comfort. And alarm announced a missile warning and she panicked, trying to shake the war head, only for a burst of blue plasma fire to whip behind her, destroying the missile. A human Raptor ripped by behind her, Sheila realizing that several others had joined the fight as well. The dominance fighters were definitely earning their names, keeping up with Fox and the other Star Fox members almost shot for shot, simply out maneuvering enemy craft before running them down.

"Hope we aren't interrupting. Saw you heading planet side, thought we might lend a hand." Sheila didn't recognize the pilot's voice, but, judging by Will's near instant response, he was a long time friend.

"Damn it Kyle, we don't need your lousy ass help! Get shot down elsewhere!" she couldn't help but laugh at the banter, chasing down a scythe and firing several linked blasts from her wolfen, destroying it.

"Go eat shit and die Will!" another missile warning triggered and she slammed on her pedals, while ramming the holographic collective down at the same time. The sudden stop and drop caused the missile to streak over her, letting her easily hit it with a linked blast.

"Nah, how bout a little competition. Who ever kill's more in this fight, wins? Goes for all of us!" Sheila couldn't help but be shocked by his sudden light hearted ness, despite the situation.

"Oh, you are so on Will!" she heard Mira's shout, narrowly dodging her Arwing as it shot after a pair of bombers.

"In your dreams smalls, let the big boys play!" she heard a growl over the radio, chuckling.

"Children! If you don't cut it out, I swear to whatever fluffy god you worship I will wreck your worlds and make you call me daddy!" Fox's joking commanding voice instantly lightened the situation, Sheila's muscles relaxing as she ducked and weaved around the enemy, finding the fighting becoming easier, less desperate feeling.

"Sir, Yes Sir!" the shout was almost synchronized amongst several of the pilots, Sheila only really sure that Will and Wolf where among them. The small morale boost the exchange provided quickly faded as the enemy ship fired it's main gun again, the silvery bolt tearing another cruiser in half. Almost half their fleet was already destroyed.

"Sheila, look out!" she heard Wolf's call, barely seeing his fighter whip by her, a silver bolt ripping through his fighter and reflected off her shielding.

"Wolf!?" she was utterly shocked at the sudden action, looping over to see his Wolfen careening toward the planet, totally out of control. He ejected as she watched, Sheila about to let her focus return to the fight when another silver bolt lanced into her fighter, a brilliant flash being the last thing she remembered.

* * *

Wolf scrambled across the sand, running for the smoke billowing up from Sheila's crash site. Near as he could tell, no one else had been shot down yet, making Sheila his priority at the moment. A red plasma bolt whipped by, Wolf only glancing in the direction of the enemy soldier, his own round finding it's mark in the soldiers chest. As he ran, he heard an engine whine, looking up to see a human dropship whip past, it's engines twisted forward as it fought to bring itself to a stop. As soon as it had, it lowered out of Wolf's sight, Wolf scrambling up what he thought was the last sand dune between himself and the wreck at the top, he could see for hundreds of meters, the sand dune forming a pseudo cliff over a valley. The dropship and fighter wreck were still three hundred meters or so away, a human squad spreading out around the perimeter. Wolf slid his way down the dune, barely keeping from tumbling as he shifted to a full sprint toward the wreck. None of the humans raised weapons to stop him, Wolf recognizing several of the voices shouting back and forth amongst each other as he approached.

"Come on! Get that canopy open!" Wolf couldn't mistake Ramirez's voice as he slowed to a trot, reaching the fighters half buried wreck. It was blackened and burned, the metal popping and cracking still from heat. Without a second of hesitation, he leapt onto the fighter, joining Ramirez and Mills as they tried to force the canopy open from either side of the cockpit, Wolf mounting the nose and barely managing to get his fingers under the tempered polymer. The canopy was coated in carbon from the crash, completely blotted out. All of his muscles strained in protest as they all pushed and pulled together, the damaged canopy finally giving in and snapping off. Sheila was inside, slumped in her seat. shrapnel and torn into the cockpit, several spots in her outfit ripped and charred. He quickly released her harness, pulling her out as gently as possible. A small sigh of relief slipped out of him as he heard her groan in protest.

"Sheila, can you hear me!?" Ramirez helped him set her in the sand as gently as possible, leaning her against the blackened hull. She didn't respond, Wolf moving to open one of her eyes to see if they would respond to light, pulling his hand away from her forehead, covered in fresh blood. "Fuck, need the medic over here!" she had a sizable gash in her hair line that was still actively bleeding. He gently used his hand to apply pressure to the wound, hoping to at least slow the bleeding. "Damn it, don't you dare die on me! We've lost enough people to this war!" she stirred at his nearly shouted words, her eyes half opening.

"W-Wolf? What'sss going on?" her speech was slurred her hand moving to pull his off her forehead, Wolf gently stopping her with his free hand.

"Don't move. It's not too bad right now." she didn't respond her eye's drooping closed and opening several times as the medic arrived. Before either of them could do anything, a shrill squeal assaulted their ears, one of the soldiers shouting.

"Incoming!" Wolf instantly panicked, covering as much of sheila's body as he could before he heard an explosion, several more following as more mortar rounds rained down on them.

* * *

Katt barely rolled out of the way of an enemy cannon shot, firing a burst from her rotary cannon back at the enemy bomber. She smirked as it splintered apart, Katt instantly searching for another target.

"If we don't do something about that cruiser soon, we are all dead!" Katt glanced at the Great Fox as Slippy spoke over the comms, her attention quickly returning to chasing down fighters. The enemy cruiser returned to her vision as she swung after an enemy craft, Katt watching as the Great Fox's cannons managed to rip through the enemy shields. Even with the immense power of the Great Fox's main cannon's, they didn't do much more than leave burns on the hull.

"Slippy! Blow the top off that structure, I'll take Will and see if we cant end this fight! The fleet upstairs cant be doing very well!" she heard slippy acknowledge as she slipped up beside Falco's fighter, the two exchanging a glance.

"Fox, just the two of you!? have you gone crazy!?" Falco's voice was met with silence, both of them splitting apart as a silvery plasma round ripped between them.

"Yes. Falco, I'm trusting you to deal with that ship, and don't let anyone follow us down." Katt got her eyes on a scythe bearing down on a bottlenose fighter, easily locking a missile and firing as the Great Fox fired again, blasting the dome apart.

"Fox, I don't care about what you have to say, I'm going with you!" Krystal's voice was filled with determination, everyone there easily able to tell there was no stopping her.

"Mira. Don't even think about it." Katt narrowly dodged a missile that was launched after her, her concentration split between the conversation she was hearing and battle going on around her at the same time.

"Will, I'm no-" Mira's voice was pained, being almost instantly cut off by Will.

"No. stay up here, watch our backs." Katt heard a sigh over the radio, glancing at her control board to see the three fighters drop into the shaft.

"Well, let's not let them down, I have an idea, keep these fighters off me!" Falco sounded a lot more confident then Katt felt, Katt turning to follow him as he raced toward the enemy ship. anti-air guns instantly began firing at them, Katt trying to duck and weave around the deadly bolts. One slammed into one of her G-Diffusers, blasting it off. A small curse slipped out of her mouth as she peeled away, trying to get away from the dogfight in her now wounded fighter. As she watched, Falco's modified interceptor ducked and weaved through the fire, almost artfully. Katt's brow furrowed, confused as to what he thought he could do to the enemy ship, and not daring to break his concentration to ask. His fighter quickly reached the hull of the ship, using it to make him harder to track as he moved to the bow of the ship, ripping around to in front of the main cannon, his G-diffusers bringing him to a stop. "Eat this you massive sack of shit!" at his shout, he began firing every single weapon his ship possessed, missiles and plasma rounds ripping down the bore before he suddenly pulled away Katt almost confused as to why, only for a bright lance of light to tell her why.

"Falco!" Katt panicked as the light from the blast dissipated, angling her fighter that way despite it fighting her. Her eyes frantically searched the sky, looking for any sign of his ship, barely noticing as the enemy ship began to have sections of armor blast off, something he did having set off a chain reaction within the ship. She startled when she spotted a falling, blackened chunk of metal, instantly racing after it. Now that she was closer, she could easily see the half slagged remains of Falco's fighter, tears stinging her eyes. _Falco, please be ali-_ her thought was suddenly cut off, the cruiser detonating with enough force to send her fighter tumbling through the air, slamming into the sand, Katt's world going black on impact.

* * *

Fox rolled and juked, doing every maneuver he dared in the cramped confines of the vertical tunnel, dodging volley after volley of enemy fire as they ripped past ships and underground factories crawling with Aparoids and soldiers alike, all firing at them.

"God damn, how deep does this shit go!?" Fox glanced at Will's black Arwing, unable to tell if it was damaged or not because of the paint job.

"No fucking clue! Just keep that throttle maxed!" Fox didn't know if Will acknowledged or not, simply unleashing a torrent of fire ahead of him, trying to rival the fire he was dodging as craft and flying Aparoids whipped past at ever increasing speeds. Two other sets of green bolts were joining his, carving a trail of destruction deeper and deeper into the planet. An Aparoid flyier, almost like an acid spitting bug, forced Fox to slam on his pedals, just barely managing to slow enough to dodge it. he could now see Krystal and Will's fighters in front of him, adjusting power settings on his fighter to try and keep up. _Damn it! this is getting intense!_ Almost on que with that thought, an enemy fighter veered directly in front of Krystal's fighter as she fired, detonating just meters in front of her. their shear speed turned the pieces of ship into pure shrapnel, ripping clean through Krystal's shielding and peppering her fighter, three of the diffusers and her engine shorting out as she shot behind Fox, Fox's head snapping back to follow her craft.

"Krystal!" she didn't respond, her fighter now falling, totally unpowered.

"Fox, get her out of this." he glanced between Will and Krystal's craft, terrified by the results of either action.

"Will, we are pulling out. Come on." Fox killed his thrust, thankful that the enemy fire had thinned out as he carefully maneuvered his ship under Krystals, canting his nose up until he had it facing roughly forty five degrees.

"Not happening Fox. This is our best bet of ending this battle. I'm not pulling out, and if you follow, you are condemning Krys to death. Make the right choice here Fox." He closed his eyes for a second before gently increasing his collective and throttle, letting Krystal's crippled craft settle on top of his.

"Then you better make it back Will." He heard a sigh over the comm line as he began to accelerate up, ever increasing his collective and thrust to keep Krystal's fighter balanced on his own, his leg twitching.

"No promises Fox. Just... Take care of Mira. Please." There was a small, almost hidden pain to his words, Fox getting a strong feeling he wasn't going to be seeing Will again. Will continued to speak before Fox could respond, the distance and interference starting to break up his words. "And say good bye to all of them for me… Good bye Fox." He almost didn't hear the last statement through the static, unable to stop a tear from slipping out of his eye.

"Just make it count Will." With that, he focused entirely on raising out of the shaft, hoping the enemy didn't target his craft again.

* * *

Alarms were ringing like crazy inside of my cockpit, able to feel gravity pulling me against my harness. The enemy had vanished minutes ago, a sinking feeling in my gut that the gravity was going to be too much for me to handle. _Come on, please don't be too much deeper._ Almost on que with that thought my sensors detected a massive chamber ahead of me, so much energy in it that there were electrical discharges lancing across the several kilometer chamber. I rammed my throttle back, doing my best to slow down before entering, pitching as soon as I did so. Even with the collective maxed out, gravity was still pulling my ship down, forcing me to angle my ship up and use the main engine to compensate. The room around me was silvery in color, a massive lake of what looked like crystal clear water filling the lower half of the chamber, light seeming to emanate from every surface, nearly blinding me even with the auto polarizing of the canopy. In the center of the room was a massive armored Aparoid, large wing like structures shifting from being wrapped around the body, each piece glinting at me with each motion. On the torso, I could faintly see a purple crystal, silver armor quickly shifting over it.

"Good to finally meet you, William Hawkins!" I startled as the voice filled the room, seeming to reverberate through and over any sound or thought. I was panicking to find the source, a cold laugh following the words. "I'm over here you idiot! The giant thingy in the middle of the room, looks an awful lot like an Aparoid queen. Well, what am I kidding? It is a queen!"

"Who the hell are you!" I oddly started getting images flashing before my mind, images I wished I could forget as I watched my friends dying all around me all over again.

"Ah, how hurtful! It's me, MacDonnell, your old pal!" I snarled aiming at the massive creature and opening fire. The green bolts simply reflected off the armor, doing very little, if anything. "Seriously, that puny fighter wont be able to do anything to me." I fought to think of a plan, already knowing my missile rack was empty.

"Alright, if you're MacDonnell, explain some things to me. How are you that… thing, and how the hell did Andross get the Aparoids to work with him!?" my mind raced between ideas, my fingers flying across the dash of my fighter, hoping a scan would find a weak point.

"quite simple really. I mixed his mind manipulation tech with a neural link, in doing so, I gained full and direct control over this queen" _he's probably bull shitting. Looks like the longer I wait, the more armor that forms._ I quickly upped the output of my weapons firing another burst of now blue bolts at it, coring out small sections. But I panicked as I it swung one of the massive wings at me, narrowly dodging it. alarms started ringing in my fighter, announcing heat and gravity warnings, several systems starting to short out. "Tsk, tsk, show some manners boy, you are in my house after all!"

"Fine, the Aparoids, they were wiped out, how the hell did you find them!?" a massive laugh echoed through the room, more of my systems dropping out, including my HUD and sensors. I was started to feel woozy, it being a strain just lifting my arm in the high gravity.

"True. But there were plenty of corpses! A little of Andross's cloning tech, and poof, Aparoids. Sadly, without a queen, any group larger than twenty or so goes absolutely wild, attacking and slaughtering each other. And we could not control the queen with technology alone. Hence this!" the wings moved in a mock bowing motion, more armor starting to shift from under the water to cover the 'chest region' where I had seen the crystal earlier. _Wait, a crystal!? Didn't Andross create a suspension system that locked the user in a crystal!?_ I angled my fighter toward him again, trying to think of a way to puncture his armor, to get at that crystal, his voice ringing out again. "Sadly, I would go into more detail, but we don't really have the time." The canopy began to crack as some of the digital screens started shorting out. "Or, more correctly, you don't have any more time. Sad. If you had brought a new fighter, you might have stood a chance. Good by Hawkins." my vision was blurring, barely able to see the plates about to cover it's chest region. _I cant shoot my way through… I just don't have the firepower…_ I took a deep breath, or tried to as the air seemed to be being squeezed out of my body.

"I'm sorry Mira… good bye, and…" my voice cracked barely able to speak as I whispered to myself, angling toward the massive creature.

"The hell are you talking about? Is that gravity really effecting you so much that you cant even form a coherent thought?" My vision seemed to be stretching out before me, the edges turning black just as I brought the fighter on line with it's chest, ramming the throttle forward. _I'm sorry Mira. I love you so much. Just wish I could say that to you one more time_ _._

"Go to hell you son of a bitch!" I barely managed to shout as the creature grew in my vision, dominating it entirely before everything turned black.


	35. Epilogue

Mira rolled and pitched, narrowly dodging an Aparoid flier, confused when it began going after one of its own. Enemy fighters all around her had begun attacking each other, several trying to flee, only to be cut down. _What the hell is going on!?_ She panicked as another crazed Aparoid ripped after her ship, a raptor whipping by and blasting it apart.

"All ships, retreat, I repeat, pull back! The enemy is going nuts! Let them kill themselves!" Mira ducked and weaved away heading for the great fox as that radio call got repeated several times. She had to dive to dodge a pair of scythe fighters, seeing something strange looking launch out of the tunnel mouth, trailing smoke.

"Any ship this net, I repeat, any ship this net, Mayday, mayday, mayday! I've lost most of my engine power and am going in hard, need back up!" Mira recognized Fox's voice, seeing a single strike fighter chasing the oddly shaped object, which lurched around as if the pilot was drunk. She hammered her throttle forward and followed, one well-placed linked blast turning the strike fighter into a plume of smoke, falling to the sand below. Now that she was closer, her eyes went wide, realizing that she was staring at two different fighters right now, one unpowered Arwing sitting atop the other, it's nose between the G-diffusers. The G-diffusers on both fighters being the only thing keeping them together.

"Fox! Where's Will?!" she brought her fighter even with his, seeing how much he was struggling to keep his craft relatively airborne, several burns on the hull, as well as one of his wings being gone.

"He went deeper in! I guess he did something, shit went all crazy on the way out. Power surges and shit all up the shaft!" Mira couldn't help but be nervous now, glancing worriedly at the tunnel entrance

"Alright, think you can safely land?" she saw Fox in his cockpit, him looking at her and nodding.

"Yeah, don't worry about us. Be careful down there." She pulled up and away, seeing his fighter impact the ground, sliding hundreds of meters as it slid to a stop. She was just bringing the fighter around when a massive blast rocked her fighter, a massive column of smoke and flame spewing from the tunnel.

"Will!" her eyes franticly searched the sky around the smoke plume, hoping her IFF picked something up. an object fell from the debris, trailing smoke. It was a lot larger than most of the pieces, and suddenly changed to a shallower path, showing a controlled fall, rather than a random piece of debris. She instantly accelerated up to full throttle, chasing after it as it slammed into a sand dune, crashing through and sliding to a stop in the valley beneath the dune. She pushed her fighter as fast as she could, almost not slowing down in time as she slammed into the sand, sliding across the ground. As soon as she stopped, she undid the harness and leapt out, sprinting and slipping across the loose sand. Now that she was closer, she was able to recognize the warped and damaged hull. She panicked as she jammed her fingers under the lip of the warped and cracked was still burning hot, causing her to yank her hands away. "Fuck, hang on Will!" she panicked as she tried to think of something, her body already covered in sweat from the heat bleeding off the hull. Thinking fast, she yanked Will's knife off her thigh, slamming the metal bottom of the hilt into the canopy, a large circular cracking pattern appearing around the impact. She continued to pound on it the fractures expanding more and more until the panel shattered into hundreds of tiny shards. Without thinking, she slammed her stomach into the hull of the craft, letting her hang half in the cockpit. One deft movement released his harness, pure adrenaline letting her haul him up enough for their combined weight to cause them to fall out, Mira landing on her back with Will on top of her. She barely noticed the pain in her gut, the hot metal having left a subtle stinging.

She quickly slipped out from under Will, wrapping her arms under his arm pits, dragging him away from the smoking wreck. She only just now noticed the burns and cuts across his body, one side of his face totally covered in carbon. She gently set him in the sand, trying to wipe the carbon away, just smudging it around, turning her hand black. She breathed a small sigh of relief, happy that it was nothing more than carbon, no wounds hidden underneath. She hadn't realized how long it had taken for her to pull him from the cockpit, the whine of a drop ships engines crossing over her, one glance revealing a human dropship. She quickly returned her attention to Will, feeling his neck for a pulse. Her heart leapt into her throat when she found none, quickly grabbing his wrist and searching for a pulse there, not even realizing she was crying.

"No, no, no, no! please don't be dead!" she didn't even notice that someone was now standing over her, a feminine voice gasping. She checked both of his wrists, finding no pulse on either checking his neck again, to no avail. "Will! No! i… I…" her voice dropped out as she began sobbing slumping across his vest. She felt him move, instantly bolting upright holding her breath as she tried to listen carefully. A small groan slipped out of him, Mira's heart soaring as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him as close as she could.

"Will…" no amount of words in the universe could ever show the amount of relief she felt in that moment, Mira settling for the single uttered word.

* * *

My eye's snapped open, instantly shielding my eyes for a second as I seemed to be in the center of a pure white light, almost blinded no matter where I looked. But oddly enough, it didn't hurt my eyes. My arms sagged to my side, letting my eyes close. Great, this again. Am I insane or something?

"No, you're not insane Will. You do look like shit though." I grunted at the familiar voice, barely reacting beyond that.

"How can I look like shit? This is all in my head isn't it?" I couldn't help but let my eyes open again, instantly finding the blonde haired woman, walking across my vision as she stared out at something, her hands loosely clasped behind her back.

"First, look down dufas. Second, how does that scraggle on your chin not bother you? I remember you going nuts anytime you had even a tiny little strip of stubble." I glanced down, shocked to see that I was wearing the uniform I had been wearing before, the fresh UEC flight vest and all. But the uniform was torn in several places, covered in carbon as well. Now that I had seen it, I realized that I was covered in dull aches, a few sharp pains marking what felt like shrapnel wounds.

"Just haven't cared very much recently…" a small sigh slipped out of me, my eyes remaining aimed downward, not that down looked any different than up.

"Sit with me for a bit?" I glanced at her, seeing one of her contagious smiles on her face, her green eyes seeming to match. But I knew her well enough that she was trying to cover her concern. Her smile was part of her trying to cheer someone up. I shrugged and moved over to her, sitting down beside her. not that there was anything there to visibly sit on anyway. "We really should stop meeting like this Will. People are gonna talk you know?" I grunted again, still not looking at her.

"People already did talk about us. that time is gone Amanda." I heard her sigh, shifting slightly.

"I know… was just..." she let out another defeated sigh, finally looking at her again. But her eyes had drifted elsewhere, looking away again. "Will… Don't give up yourself yet. I know you are hurting, I know everything you have been through and believe me, if I could have stopped any of that, I would have. It's not my place anymore though. Hell, this probably isn't my place either. just don't give in. besides, if we ever meet like this again, I am so kicking your ass." I rolled my eyes as her attention finally returned to me, giving my shoulder a friendly punch.

"Well that wont get very far. It's not like any of this is real." She laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Believe what ya want Will, believe what ya want. What is real anyway? And why don't you ask Fox about the last time he saw his dad?" I shrugged, not really caring. "Alright, I get it, just… well… take care of yourself." With that, everything started to fade, all of the pain across my body violently intensifying, my eye's closing of their own volition. I moaned slightly from the pain, a new pain rising in my chest, just before that pain exploded, not really sure what was happening, just that both of my armor plates were being violently compressed.

"Will…" I instantly recognized that voice, doing my best to wrap my arms around her smaller frame, barely even aware I was lying on the sand, still not even bothering to open my eyes.

"Hey Mira… mind not squeezing me so hard? Ya gonna kill me." I heard her chuckle, opening my eyes as she backed off. There were tears darkening the fur on her face, but seeing her smiling seemed to make everything else in the world disappear in an instant. She looked beyond happy, literally grinning from ear to ear. I could also see Fox and Krystal behind her, both worse for wear but still on their feet with identical smiles on their faces. I quickly sat up and pulled her right back into another embrace, not letting go as I buried my face in her neck fur for a few seconds, ignoring the severe pain her return hug was causing. After a few seconds, I looked up to Fox, speaking to him. "Everyone alright?" Fox nodded, still smiling.

"Yeah, Wolf and Sheila got downed, Sheila's still out. She was banged up pretty badly. Falco and Katt went down too, Katt's a little loopy, got hit in the head on impact, Falco broke his arm, but should be fine. And we're fine. Krys got a minor concussion and a few scrapes, but were alive, thanks to you and Ramirez." I glanced around as he finished, seeing the singed and beat up soldiers spreading out on the perimeter, smiling.

"Well, that's good. Sorry if gave yall a good scare." He just smiled and walked off, Krystal following. "Mira…" she cut me off by squeezing me even tighter, unable to help but wince as pain seared across my chest.

"Shut up! You are such a fucking idiot!" I smiled and rolled my eyes, just happy to hear her voice.

"Come on Mira, what do I keep tellin ya! I am invincible after all!" I felt her shaking her head, her entire body bouncing as she chuckled.

"Damn it Will, I'm already crying, be weird to be laughing at the same time you idiot!" I smiled and buried my face in her neck again.

"I love you Mira…"

* * *

"I can't believe it's already been two months." Fox twisted around to look over the couch, smiling at Krystal's words. They were in a house they had decided to buy, using funds from the payout for their work during the war. even split amongst the entirety of the Star Fox team and crew, including Sheila and Wolf, it was still a considerable amount, both the UEC and Corneria paying them. Krystal was in the kitchen, only separated from the living room by a breakfast bar.

"I can't believe I'm getting married in two weeks." She rolled her eyes before stepping around the breakfast bar with a bowl of popcorn.

"You are the one who proposed to me." She quickly slipped onto the couch beside him, landing a short kiss on the side of his muzzle as she snuggled up next to him. he smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Hear from Wolf and them yet?" Fox smirked, memories from the call with wolf floating to mind.

"Yeah, they're doing fine, although he is having trouble sleeping right now." Krystal raised an eyebrow at him, Fox having learned how to block her telepathy, just to be able to string her on from time to time. "Well, Falco's arm is no longer in a cast…" Krystal's eyebrow remained raised, still confused. "And he share's a cabin with Katt still, right next to Wolf's cabin…" she still was utterly confused, not yet aware of Falco and Katt's relationship. "Aaannd he constantly wakes up to moaning, a few intermittent screams…." Krystal went wide eyed, trying to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh, and epically failing.

"Really?! Jeez, I feel sorry for him. that's good to hear though, I always knew they would make a good couple. Still strange to me that Wolf now leads Star Fox." Fox grimaced, his free hand touching the cane leaning against the couch. His leg had continued to randomly stop working on him, Doc Townsend saying it was a side effect of the implant. It was possible it could correct with time, or never change, or even get worse. For the most part, he was fine, mostly getting bouts of numbness, and if he kept the cane on him, he could easily catch himself should something happen. In lieu of that, he had passed Star Fox into Wolf's care, both he and Krystal leaving the team. The only two normal Star Fox members being Slippy and Falco, Slippy taking over as the ship's operator and team mechanic.

"Yeah. it does. Hating not having anything to do though." She chuckled, reaching across him to grab the remote.

"it's almost time for that speech Will and Mira are gonna be at. Wanna tune in?" he shrugged, Krystal quickly changing the channel until they were on CNN, although, by what they were told, almost every news station in the two systems was broadcasting it. Checking his watch, there was still a few minutes before the speech was supposed to start, some car commercial playing. "Think they're doing alright on earth?"

"Yeah, they're probably fine. They seemed okay yesterday when I talked to them." she nodded, silence falling between them as the newscaster returned.

"Now, we take you live to the New York Memorial, Where several United Earth Coalition leaders have gathered to honor those fallen in the Division War." The image near instantly changed, Krystal sliding the bowl of popcorn off her lap and setting it beside them. the scene on the screen made Fox grimace, the scene of craters and rubble behind the stage bringing up memories he never wanted to see again. The stage was a simple polymer and metal platform, a clear plastic podium set up at the center with nothing behind it. on the right and left of the podium were chairs, already filled with delegates and important persons, from the new Cornerian Ambassador, a hand full of his guards, to leaders from across the UEC. Right in the front seats of the left side, closest to the podium, was Will and Mira. Will was in his formal uniform, from the leather boots and belt, all the way up to a red beret, the dark blue uniform looking surprisingly well on him. he also had a blue ribbon around his neck, a small gold star with a wreath around it connected to the ribbon. They had also seen the ceremony where he had received that award, as well as an identical posthumous award for his father. Mira beside him was wearing a simple knee length grey business skirt, as well as a white long sleeve button up shirt. Her hair was up in a tight bun, two long black polished sticks being used to hold it together. Behind the podium was an aging human female, her grey hair and wrinkled features now easily recognizable as President Monroe, the leader of one the UEC's major nations.

"Behind me is the site of one of the largest mass graves in the known universe. Just over one year ago, twenty million lives were extinguished in a matter of minutes, igniting one of the most brutal conflicts mankind has ever seen. A war whose embers still burn on, even after the flames have died. And to make this war all the worse, those who started it almost didn't take part in it. Today, we dedicate this section of earth as a memorial for all of those lost, on both sides of the conflict. So that no one forgets how this war started, in hope that we all remember how it ended. To those heroes who risked everything to bring this war to an end, we thank you. To those still fighting, I urge you, please, do what you can to come home. We've all lost enough people because of this war." The president looked down and sighed as she finished speaking, almost as if she was debating what to say. Behind her, Fox noticed Mira move, placing her hand on Will's. Fox had only just now realized that he seemed stiff as a board, almost like he was at attention, even while sitting down. A small sigh slipped out of him upon seeing that, unable to stop it. "To those who refused to lay down their arms, we will stop you, and finally stamp out the embers of this conflict." Before more could be said, Fox's wrist computer went off, Fox releasing Krystal so he could grab it off the coffee table, answering it instantly.

"Hello, McCloud speaking." He had placed it on speaker, not actually looking at who had called.

"Sup Fox. How's the married life?" he raised an eyebrow as Will's voice came through the speaker, glancing at the TV screen, where Will was still rigidly sitting.

"Uh, fine, we aren't married yet Will. Aren't you at that memorial ceremony?" there was a few seconds of silence before Will spoke again, Krystal and Fox exchanging a quick glance.

"It's a recording. The only people actually there are those on the stage. There was word the Russian military was going to target the memorial. Me and small's are just packing for a gate jump home actually." Fox grinned, opening his mouth to speak, but Krystal had beat him to the punch, her suddenly excited voice causing him to wince.

"Really!? You two are going to be able to make the wedding!?" he heard a combined chuckle through the line, Mira's voice coming through.

"You betcha! Will apparently never mentioned you two's wedding date to Monroe until he was being handed his discharge papers this morning. She pulled some strings to get us a gate jump so we could make it!" Krystal was grinning, a grin crossing Fox's face too.

"Besides, be bad if the best man didn't make it to the wedding. Makes it seem like the groom has terrible friends. Still don't get why you want me in that role. Falco, Bill, or Slippy probably fit the bill better." Fox chuckled, glancing at the silver band on Krystal's finger.

"Will, you are the one how gave me the ring in the first place." He didn't know how he knew, but he simply knew that Will shrugged in response.

"Still. Wolf and co even gonna make it?"

"Yeah, they're on their way back. You doing better?" he heard a sigh over the phone, grimacing.

"It'll be nice to be home again." Fox's ear's perked up at that, almost shocked as an old memory slipped through his mind. _"I really don't know. They say home is where the heart is. I'll let you know when I find it."_ Will's phantom voice echoed in his mind, a small smile crossing Fox's face as to the true significance of what Will had said hit him.

"Well, see ya at the space port Will. Be glad to welcome you two home."my vision, dominating it entirely before everything turned black.


	36. AN

**And reposting this to say that the sequel is now up under Star Fox: Restoration**

* * *

I honestly thought the edit was going to take much longer than it did. I only really changed one scene, and that was the scene where Mira finds Will. And all I did was try to capture more of Will's confusion. Most everything else was consistency errors and typos. I thought I was going to be changing the end scenes but after re-reading them, I am actually quite happy with them. they really do a decent job of showing the desperateness of the pilots. Deception on the other hand is still being looked over again. I have modified the dialogue, but for those of you following this series already, the key events are not changing at all.

Well, first off, gotta say, this story went through a LOT of changes, so lets start with what never changed.

First, Fox and Krystal always was planned to break up and get married. Was the plan from day one for them.

Falco and Katt were always going to get together, and is why I did so in the Phoenix fire as well.

Will and Fox were always going to get into a dogfight, but the situation was extremely different.

Mira and Will. Come on folks, you coulda guessed that.

The Aparoids. Yes, they were a part of the plan from the start. I wasn't entirely sure exactly how the alliance was going to control them, that was a puzzle that took a good bit to figure out for me, and if you don't get it right now, don't worry, it will come up later tehe. I will say that both of the fleets that attacked earth and Corneria were aparoid controlled.

The framework for the final battle, barely changed from the beginning, aside from some obvious changes. Will's father always did sacrifice himself, Russian ships and whole civil war sparking was always there, the whole tunnel scene and Will ramming his fighter into the aparoid queen, and the whole final scene with Will and Mira. All been planned, roughly so at least, since the start.

Now the changes…. Whoa, too many to count…

For those of you have been around since the start, the obvious. About three, four some odd months in, I decided to do a rewrite a good chunk of the story, rearranging some events in the beginning of Deception. Originally, the opening fight was with the human escort carrier, the two pirate bases following. Other spur of the moment decisions were the exact timings of Will/mira's and Katt/Falco's relationships. Originally, they weren't starting until literal the end of the finally battle. (lol, I was a bit naïve huh?) funny, how characters can kinda rebel against ya, eh? Lol. Saber was a literal chapter before creation, designed entirely for adding tension between Fox and Krystal. Originally, he survived the war, but as more fresh characters got added, and I noticed too many characters were getting just roughed up. So he kinda ended up dead. It was in ways, a spur of the moment decision, plus, it helped drive Krystal and Fox back together. And I'll admit, good shock effect right at the end of deception. Will being captured was also something that took me a while to do, but I think that ended up a great decision. Using that, and the idea that there was still a Cerinian population, gave me the idea of how to add the Aparoids. Now, Sheila's addition, as well as the other characters of Star Fox: First Contact, I got the idea of adding when Shep threw a Cameo of Will in Veria, so I did my own much larger cameo of Sheila, Sabrina, and Dereck. Fara's death was something I had decided on almost right after I decided they were going to brainwash Will. Originally, when I added Fara, Miyu, and Fay, Miyu was going to gain a strong affinity to Will. She was also originally, not going to die.

Wills ring had always been in it, but I originally didn't know what I was going to do with it. I'll admit, I liked giving it to Fox. Was a nice touch to be perfectly honest.

So many of the changes and additions to this story were made as spur of the moment, including Fox's injury. I would start writing a scene, and it would just… flow into what ended up happening. And that happened more often than I care to admit.

Inspirations for this story? Lots of random pictures on the internet, boredom, my own personal writing (The UEC is almost directly ripped from it, as far as visual style, although the UEC tech of deception is very low compared to my own writing.) Other places I pulled inspiration from, the game Project Slypheed (Mix Star Fox, Ace combat, and final fantasy together, easiest comparison for that game) as well as Ace Combat 5 (Guilty!). I actually had story ideas, and character ideas, as well as ideas as far as the fight scenes from those games. Pulled from a few other games too, but it was mostly just conceptual stuff, like the layout of a fight or ways to create scenarios.

Also, I doubt anyone caught on, may have been too subtle with it, (More because I didn't what to go too overboard with the joke) but did you catch who Kyle was based on? Peg leg…. Long hair…. Squadron is named the Dragons…. Has a Nordic last name…. Always names his ship twilight's fire which is kinda reminiscent of Night Fury…. Tehe.

Well, that's it for now, and I am now moving on to work on the sequel, I'll throw up one more chap to this once its up! Catch you all again later!


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